Dr. Audra Bellmore

Professor, Center for Southwest Research

Dr. Bellmore is a professor at the Center for Southwest Research, affiliated with Museum Studies. She is the Endowed Curator of the John Gaw Meem Archives of Southwestern Architecture. Dr. Bellmore is a researcher of Route 66, with a forthcoming publication on the hidden histories of the Mother Road.

What does Route 66 signify for you?

To me, Route 66 is America’s Main Street – where people work, live, shop and gather. It is a connecting thread that links a diverse array of communities together and a vehicle for telling their stories.

What is one of your favorite spots along Route 66 in Albuquerque?

I love El Vado Motel. It was a long time coming, but through a public/private partnership with the City of Albuquerque and an entrepreneur interested in historic preservation, an iconic Route 66 motel was saved. The process illustrates how historic preservation initiatives valuing our cultural history can also result in good business.

Looking up at the El Vado Motel's neon sign and the site's renovated plaza and office building.

El Vado Motel, 2024. Photo courtesy of Dominic Valdez.

What is your favorite Route 66 collection in the Center for Southwest Research? Why?

My favorite collection in the Center for Southwest Research is the J.B. Jackson Pictorial Collection. Jackson was a cultural geographer who published Landscape magazine and wrote many books. He taught at Harvard and U.C. Berkley, and made his home just off Route 66 in La Ciénega, New Mexico [pre-1937 alignment]. He is celebrated for documenting and analyzing vernacular architecture and landscapes. His photograph collection is a treasure trove of roadside material culture, including buildings, signage and landscape elements including Route 66. It’s a great collection to understand what was there, what remains, and unfortunately what is gone.

Bajito Low Rider Shop (Pre-1937 Rte 66, c. 1966)

J.B. Jackson, Bajito Low Rider Shop [Isleta Blvd SW, pre-1937 Route 66], Albuquerque, NM, January 1966. Center for Southwest Research, Pict Colls. PICT 000-866-4-R4-02

Antoine Predock's The Beach Apartments (Route 66, c. 1986)

J.B. Jackson, Apartment Building [Antoine Predock's "The Beach" Apartment Complex, 2700 Central Ave/Route 66], Albuquerque, NM, c. 1986. Center for Southwest Research, Pict Colls. PICT 000-866-4-F2-06.

As an architectural historian, what makes Route 66 in Albuquerque distinctive to you?

Albuquerque has a long stretch of Route 66 with many buildings, including motel complexes, still standing and ripe for preservation and rehabilitation. Route 66 in Albuquerque has vast potential for tourism and community life.

What’s a birthday wish you have for Route 66?

Capitalize on the anniversary year and the public’s interest to move forward. Let’s use Route 66 as a tool to tell the full American story by focusing on all types of people and experiences which took place and continue to take place on America’s iconic Mother Road.

South 4th Street Pedestrians (1969)

Walter McDonald, A man and woman walk down a sidewalk on South Fourth Street [Pre-1937 Route 66], August 7 1969, 35mm slide. Albuquerque Museum. PA 1996.006.729