Biting The Hand That Feeds
By Rich "Blue" Williams
Tourism has always been a double-edged sword. On the one hand it
generates an incredible amount of dollars for the state's economy and
related industries, and on the other hand it creates some of the lowest
paying jobs for those of us who reside here. The Association has
supported the development of cultural and heritage tourism based on
Historic Route 66, realizing it's one of the few strategies that make
preservation and conservation of the historic roadway economically
feasible.
Why do tourists come to New Mexico? Native American culture is
the number one reason, with our Hispanic communities and heritage not
far behind. But related to the richness of diversity in our state is the
incredible environment within which we live. The wide open vistas, the
incredible geological formations, the valleys with their acequia
farming, cultures, and mountains that one can hike up to touch a
rainbow: all contribute to what has been marketed as a particular
vernacular landscape to be found only in New Mexico.
Our tourism industries have recognized that. We have massive
marketing campaigns exploring the multi-faceted experiences demanded by
today's adventurer. Recently we have identified 24 State Scenic Byways,
seven of which are designated National Scenic Byways (including New
Mexico's Historic Route 66).
But there is major trouble brewing on the roadway. A microwave
tower is being built at the top of LaBajada Hill on old Route 66. Dozens
of billboards appear overnight within a few hundred yards of each other
in Algodones. The viewsheds which, with great awe, we have come to
appreciate as we drive between destinations are being visually polluted.
Travelers coming to our state using our historic, national and scenic
roadways are being treated to a tour of never-ending commercial garbage
and technological hardware. Mesas, buttes, bosques and desert are being
obscured by the visual glut.
We need to begin acting quickly to protect our culture and
heritage. The designation of national and state scenic and historic
byways is an honor that we need to fulfill. Our Department of Tourism
and Office of Cultural Affairs, led by our Highway and Transportation
Department, need to sit down with key stakeholders to help forge a
policy that protects our magnificent landscapes while respecting the
ability of entrepreneurs to make a living. While Route 66 is seen today
as the icon of "commercial road culture," in New Mexico it was, and is,
inextricably linked to the scenic beauty of our high desert country.
Some may argue that it was the commercial interests of road
culture which gave birth to much of this visual garbage. But, the past's
cascading signs of Burma Shave or the creative billboards announcing the
curio shops and roadside attractions are a far cry from the present
inundation of highway advertising and electronic towers proliferating
everywhere one drives. We may be destroying the very heart of our
tourism industry. If we don't act soon, traveling the "real" New Mexico
may no longer be an experience that those breathtaking photo color shots
in our advertising literature evoke.
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Museum Opens in Santa Rosa
New Mexico now has a Route 66 Auto Museum, featuring 30 restored
gems from the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s of the Route 66 heydey. The Grand
Opening on September 16, 2000, in Santa Rosa (about 110 miles east of
Albuquerque) attracted more than 1,500 visitors, and theyÕre still
coming.
The recently opened New Mexico Route 66 Auto Museum drew 1500 visitors during its Grand Opening!
The museum fulfills a dream long held by James "Bozo" Cordova
and his wife Anna. "We had 30 of our own at the opening," said Anna,
"and friends of ours brought street rods from all over the state. It was
really wonderful."
Travelers from Denmark and Germany stopped in. "As soon as we
saw the yellow car on top of the pole, we pulled off the Interstate." A
restored yellow 1931 Ford, perches above a steel pole 16 feet high. "As
soon as that sign went up," says Bozo, "people started stopping by to
visit.
Who wouldn't? Visitors traveling from any direction are welcome
to make themselves comfortable at one of the round tables while sampling
nachos, hot dog and other good food of the route. Admission: $5 for
adults; children under 12, free. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a
week. Take Exit 277 from I-40 and drive to the roadster sign. For more
information, call (505) 472-1966.
Brown Construction Company Founder Dies at Age 93
Ted R. Brown passed away on Sunday August 27th; he would have
been 94 on August 31st. Brown was the last of the original construction
company owners who built major portions of Historic U.S. Route 66. He
founded his company in 1935.
Born in Waubaunsee, Kansas, Theodore Roosevelt Brown came to
Albuquerque with his family in a covered wagon. Brown's company became
one of the largest of the road building companies in the state. His
company built not only much of Route 66; he also rebuilt much of the
treacherous road from Albuquerque to Santa Fe up La Bajada Hill. Brown's
company went on to build much of the New Mexico Interstate system,
runways at many of the military facilities, military bunkers,
observation towers, and roadways at the (then) top secret Trinity Site,
30 miles Southeast of Socorro.
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