New Mexico: Vintage Route 66 motel to get $16 million renovation

A crumbling motel along Route 66 will get a $16million upgrade as part of an ongoing plan to revitalize a section of the iconic highway as it winds through Albuquerque. Under the renovation proposal, the Pueblo-style El Vado Motel will be redeveloped into a boutique motel with an amphitheater and restaurants. It also will have dozens of apartment units. Other Route 66 projects in the works include the renovation of the Sundowner Motel, where Bill Gates and Paul Allen lived while launching Microsoft, and the De Anza Motor Lodge, which features Tony Edaakie murals depicting a Native American ceremonial procession. El Vado, built in 1937, sits on a stretch of cultural sites that extend up the Paseo del Bosque from the National Hispanic Cultural Center to Old Town and the museum district.

Associated Press

This story was originally published October 17, 2014 at 8:00 AM with the headline "New Mexico: Vintage Route 66 motel to get $16 million renovation."