Americana Motel

406 E Route 66, Tucumcari, NM
Phone: 505-461-0431

East < GO > West

The Americana Motel was originally the 1935 State Motor Lodge. Mr. & Mrs Crotty owned the motel as the State Motor Lodge and as the Desert Air Motel. Sometime after the late 1950s the Whiting Brothers Motel chain bought the motel. Later it became the Americana. I suspect that between the Whiting Brothers and the Americana there was at least one other name. It is a typical U shaped building with an office in the middle of the U. Originally there were garages between the rooms.

This sign replaced the much more subdued State Motor Lodge sign. A Cactus that stood above the word Americana was removed with the transition to a Whiting Brothers who replaced it with their iconic W/B shield. That gave way to a "AAA Approved" sign where the Route 66 sign is at the top in this photo. The neon tubing is still in place and the palette shaped signboard is ringed with incandescent bulbs of various colors. When this sign was new the tower and palette were black and "Motel" was in white letters and the Desert Air lettering was in a lite pastel color of some sort (I'm a bit colorblind).

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Vintage Advertising Highlights

Early Postcard
State Motor Lodge
Conveniently and Centrally Located on U. S. Highway 66
Tucumcari, New Mexico
New Mexico Knotty Pine Interior
Finest of Furnishings
Innersprings
Steam Heat
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Early-Mid 50s Postcard
State Motor Lodge
2 Blocks East Highway Junction 54 & 66
Tucumcari, New Mexico
19 New Modern Units
Panel Ray Heat
Foam Rubber Mattresses & Innsersprings
Air-Conditioned
Your Home Away From Home
Mr. & Mrs. W. L. Crotty
Owners and Operators
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Late-mid 50s Postacard

Desert Air Motel
U. S. Hiway 66 - 2 blocks east of Hiway 54
Tucumcari, New Mexico
Member ATA
Individual Air Conditioning

Panel Ray Heating
Tiled Showers and Tub Baths
Large Comfortable Rooms
Family Connecting Suites
Duncan Hines and ATA Recommended
Good Restaurants and Service Stations Nearby
Owners and Operators
Mr. & Mrs. W. L. Crotty
One of Tucumcari's Best
True Western Hospitality
Telephone 1346

Note: It is interesting to see how the list of features expanded as time went on. And only the last postcard mentioned a phone number for the motel and none mentioned room phones of any kind.
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Photo(s): 2012