Shoot a ‘$36 (or $26)’ a night sign for free

 

A sign is the only thing left of the Interstate Inn in Albuquerque.
Highway Hasman photo

A former motel sign with the word “interstate” on it stands on Route 66.

It sounds like blasphemy, I know.

Located off 1916 Fourth St. along a pre-1937 Route 66 alignment, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Interstate Inn was once a place for I-40 motorists (and others) to come for the night.

It is uncertain what guests actually paid. One side of the sign reads the rate was once $36 a night while the other side has $26. 

Regardless of the cost, the motel was relatively modern as it opened around 1982, the year it started advertising for a manager in the Albuquerque Journal. George Perry would be the man to fill that role from 1983 until 2000 (It’s unknown who took over after that).

It was in the early 21^st century, however, when the Interstate Inn became popular for being more than a place to spend the evening.

A motel employee reported that convicted offenders lived in a federally contracted pretrial and housing facility behind the motel, though they did “not mingle with the guests,” according to the Nov. 22, 2002, issue of the Journal.

But that was the least of the issues that plagued the Interstate Inn.

In August 2003, the Journal reported that there were sex offenders living at the motel. Two years later, in October 2005, a woman in her 40s was found dead at the Interstate Inn.  A “large amount of blood was found in the room,” former city of Albuquerque spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said.

The motel closed a couple of years later.

There is nothing left on the property except for a metal fence and the motel sign, which should be photographed before it goes away.