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Cactus Motor Lodge

United States historic place

Significant dates

Cactus Motor Lodge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NM State Register of Cultural Properties

Historic neon sign for the lodge (removed October 2018)
35°10′24″N 103°42′37″W / 35.17333°N 103.71028°W / 35.17333; -103.71028
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1941 (1941)
Architectural style	Exotic Revival
MPS	Route 66 through New Mexico MPS
NRHP reference No.	06000154^[1]
NMSRCP No.	1887
Added to NRHP	March 21, 2006
Designated NMSRCP	December 5, 2005^[2]

The Cactus Motor Lodge, later known as the Cactus RV Park, was a motel located along historic U.S. Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico. I.E. and Edna Perry built the lodge in 1941. The motel included three wings of units forming a "U" shape and an office, the latter of which was a dance hall when the motel opened. In 1952, Norm Wegner purchased the motel; Wegner added an artificial stone exterior to the buildings and converted the dance hall to an office. After Route 66 was decommissioned, the motel lost much of its business, and by the 1990s it became an RV park; the motel units fell into disuse. The motel's neon sign was restored in 2008.^[3] In October 2018, the sign was sold and removed to be relocated to an Albuquerque neon-sign park. Many other items were sold off before the owners sold the property itself to O'Reilly Auto Parts.^[4] O'Reilly razed all structures before beginning construction of their store at the location.^[5]

The motel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 21, 2006.^[1]

Gallery

Postcard promoting the motor lodge
Buildings in 2018
Office in 2018
An O'Reilly Auto Parts store under construction at the location on April 7, 2021

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "New Mexico's Rich Cultural Heritage: Listed State and National Register Properties" (PDF). New Mexico Historic Preservation Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
^ "2008: Cactus Motel Neon Sign Restored". New Mexico Route 66 Association. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
^ "Cactus RV Park sign hauled off after sale to collector". Quay County Sun. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
^ "Construction expected to begin on auto parts store". Quay County Sun. Retrieved May 31, 2021.