{"id":1825,"date":"2026-03-04T18:21:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T18:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/?page_id=1825"},"modified":"2026-03-04T19:19:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T19:19:50","slug":"new-mexico-route-66-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/?page_id=1825","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico Route 66 History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The history of Route 66 in New Mexico is encyclopedic, rich in stories, legends, and memories.  In New Mexico, history is preserved, you can touch it, see it, and experience it. Cruising 66 is an evocative experience allowing travelers to connect with generations before us,  those who built the neon motels, serviced our vehicles at neighborly gas stations, fed us with home-cooked family recipes, presented us with gewgaws at colorful curio shops and entertained us at roadside attractions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were two alignments of Route 66 through New Mexico. From 1926 to 1936, Route 66 headed north to Santa Fe from Santa Rosa and then south through Albuquerque to Los Lunas. Route 66 headed west out of Los Lunas to Gallup. By 1937, a new alignment was established where Route 66 headed west out of Santa Rosa, bypassing Santa Fe, and routed directly to Albuquerque. Route 66 then bypassed Los Lunas and proceeded directly west to Gallup. In 1926, there was no bridge across the Rio Grande west of downtown Albuquerque and therefore 66 crossed the Rio Grande near Los Lunas. In addition, in 1926, the Sandia Mountains were a barrier entering Albuquerque which was a factor in routing 66 up to Santa Fe. By 1937, a roadway was blasted through the Sandias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

One of the most important missions of the New Mexico Route 66 Alliance is to document and share the history of Route 66 in New Mexico. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here on these pages, we will present History Sidebars<\/strong><\/em>, a new sidebar will be posted every month where we will present short takes on New Mexico Route 66 History. These short takes will be archived in case you miss an installment.\u00a0 Below is Episode 3. Scroll down for links to Episode 1 and Episode 2.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Episode 3. Traveling Route 66 Through New Mexico in 1926<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

When Cyrus Avery connected the dots from existing roads to create Route 66 through New Mexico, the following 1925 map shows the status of roads. There was no direct road between Santa Rosa and Albuquerque so you see a road from Santa Rosa to Santa Fe and then heading south to Albuquerque and on to Los Lunas. Inspecting the whole map, the only paved section was a few miles north and south of Albuquerque. Much of the rest of the road, including the length of the road from Los Lunas to Gallup were “improved roads” usually composed of packed gravel, crushed stone, or “oiled dirt.” Therefore, traveling 66 across New Mexico in 1926 was mostly graveled road. Route 66 through New Mexico wasn’t completely paved until late 1937.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

History Sidebar Archives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Episode 1. January 2026<\/strong>. The Grapes of Wrath<\/em> Movie: The New Mexico Connection. Read More<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Episode 2. February 2026. The Monumental Mystery of the Tucumcari Obelisks. Read More<\/a> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Documents<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

This National Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan was presented in 2009 by our board member, Cynthia Tidwell. (So proud!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Mexico was the first of all the states to earn status as a National Scenic Byway. This document helped offer other states a template to apply for their designation too. Click here<\/strong> to download a copy of the document. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Click here <\/strong><\/a>for an article from the National Parks about the history and significance of Route 66. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The history of Route 66 in New Mexico is encyclopedic, rich in stories, legends, and memories.  In New Mexico, history is preserved, you can touch it, see it, and experience it. Cruising 66 is an evocative experience allowing travelers to connect with generations before us,  those who built the neon motels, serviced our vehicles at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1601,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1825","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1825"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1987,"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1825\/revisions\/1987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/route66alliancenm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}