2004 Most Endangered

Most Endangered Places in New Mexico 2004

• Albuquerque Locomotive Shops, Bernalillo County
  
• Motel Blvd. / Old U.S. Highway 80
  
• Aztec Ruins National Monument
  
• Marked and Unmarked Cemeteries Throughout New Mexico
  
• Mesa Prieta
  
• The Hoyle House
  
• Traditional Village of Agua Fria
  
• Folsom Hotel
  
• Lake Valley Ghost Town
  
• Valle Vidal Unit
  
• St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church
  

Motel Blvd. / Old U.S. Highway 80

Lordsburg, Hidalgo County Nominated by Hidalgo-Boothill Centennial Council for Historic and Economic Development

SIGNIFICANCE U.S. Highway 80 through Lordsburg was once a thriving business section in the center of town. The U.S. highway, actually an urban downtown street where it passed through town (Motel Avenue), was the community?s main street and commercial hub, with a bank, cafes, taverns, grocery stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and hotels. It was also the location of parades, and was locally nicknamed "the Broadway of America." Highway 80 was a major route through southern New Mexico to California, a lesser known parallel to Route 66 further north in New Mexico. It was a way to California for Midwesterners seeking refuge from the Dust Bowl and the Depression of the 1930s. It brought large numbers of travelers and migrants through the downtown, adding to the business and action of the town. Restaurants, filling stations, and motels were busy serving travelers.

THREAT Interstate 10 was constructed through the southern side of Lordsburg about 1970, bypassing 3 miles of Motel Blvd. and stranding it from travelers. Business soon began to decline, leaving many of the older buildings abandoned and boarded. Most structures that remain on the stranded section of Highway 80/Motel Blvd. are unoccupied and deteriorating, a similar condition to what happened along Route 66 in Gallup, Grants, and Albuquerque. The Hidalgo-Boothill Centennial Council is dedicated to preserving what is left of the old main street and promoting a revival of its historic and cultural significance.