Motel Safari

722 E. Route 66, Tucumcari, NM
Phone: 505-461-3642

East < GO > West

The Doo Wop or Googie styled Safari Motel opened in 1960 as a Best Western Crown Motel. It went through several owners and faced some tough times over the years especially after I-40 opened and bypassed the main road through town. It was renovated in 2008 by Richardl and Gail Talley, and based on our stays there, they did a very nice job!. In 2017 the Talleys sold the motel to Larry Smith, a Route 66 enthusiast. It's one of three vintage motels we've enjoyed staying at in Tucumcari, the others are the Blue Swallow and the Americana. The Safari is one of two motels built by Georger Dohrer in Tucumcari, the other was the Aruba Motel (Tucumcari Inn).

The Best Western crown came off the top of the sign in 1962 and was replaced by Clyde the Camel. Personally I think Clyde adds a bit more interest than the crown. In case you wonder why a camel is hanging out in New Mexico, well he's doing his best to pay tribute to those camels that came before him as part of Edward Fitzgerald Beale’s Camel Expedition. Beale and his camels trod through New Mexico, Arizona and California in 1857 looking for the best route to become part of a national road system. Route 66 follows some of the trail they blazed. You'll run across references to Beale in several places on the Mother Road in the southwest, like Beale Street in Kingman.

Check out the mural "Elvis & Cadillac" on the entry wall. You just have to imagine the missing middle part of the Cadillac. The murals shown above and below were created by Doug & Sharon Quarles, local artists.

Take a walk around the corner and you'll find a mural of a 1950s Santa Fe Trailways tour bus. No doubt the passengers were looking forward to a stop in "Tucumcari Tonite". Tour busses are a common way of exploring Route 66 today.

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Vintage Advertising Highlights

Earlier Postcard
Safari Motel
East on Higheay 66
Tucumcari, New Mexico

AAA - Best Western
23 lovely, well furnished units
TV
Tub and Showers
Room Phones
Carpeted
Refridgerated Air-Conditioning
New throughout
Heated pool
Phone 1660
Owner - Managed by Mr. & Mrs. Chester Dohrer

Early Postcard
Safari Motel
East on Higheay 66
Tucumcari, New Mexico

AAA - Best Western
23 lovely, well furnished units
TV
Tub and Showers
Room Phones
Carpeted
Refridgerated Air-Conditioning
New throughout
Heated pool
Phone 461-xxxx
Owner - Managed by Joe & Bernice Dille
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Safari Motel
East on Higheay 66
Tucumcari, New Mexico

AAA - Best Western
23 lovely, well furnished units
TV
Tub and Showers
Room Phones
Carpeted
Refridgerated Air-Conditioning
New throughout
Heated pool
Phone 461-xxxx
Owner - Managed by Mr. & Mrs. George Strause
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Postcard
Safari Motel
East on Higheay 66
Tucumcari, New Mexico

AAA
23 lovely, well furnished units
Color T.V.
Tubs and Showers
Room Phones
Carpeted
Refridgerated Air-Conditioning
Newly Refurbished throughout
Heated pool
Phone Area Code 505-461-xxxx
Owner-Managed ... Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Frey

Note: I listed these postcards in order of their apparent place in the sequence of the motel ownership. Largely I based that on the changes in the front of the cards as the signage changed over the years. Other indications of a postcards place in the history are things like a change in phone number digits and the disappearance of things like the Best Western references in signage and text. of The text changed very little on these postcards over the years. The biggest change was on the third card where the Best Western reference was eliminated and the TVs were now showing programs in color.
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Photo(s): 2012