100% Refrigerated Air: Blue Swallow Motel

The Blue Swallow Motel is not your average motor lodge. Located in Tucumcari, New Mexico, the 12 unit motel has preserved almost all of its original features including pink stucco walls, a manager’s residence, and parking garages connected to each room. Details like these have landed The Blue Swallow on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico. 

The motel was built in 1939, and has been running continuously ever since. In 1958, the property was purchased by Floyd Redman as an engagement gift to Lillian, his wife. Lillian was a local, she had been living in Tucumcari since 1923. Her family first came to New Mexico in 1915 via covered wagon. It was during their ownership that iconic neon signs like, “TV” and “100% refrigerated air” were added. These signs are now synonymous with historic Route 66.

When Interstate 40 bypassed 66 in the 1960’s she said, “When Route 66 was closed to the majority of traffic and the other highway came in, I felt just like I had lost an old friend. But some of us stuck it out and are still here on Route 66.”

Even after her husband’s death in the late 1970’s, she continued to manage the property by herself. Finally, in 1998 she sold the property but kept a residence nearby. She continued a relationship with the owners, and visited the motel frequently until her death a year later.   

The new owners renovated the motel and brought it into modern times while maintaining its historic charm. Neons were updated, black & white televisions were replaced with color units, and rotary phones were added to the rooms for their vintage appeal.

Did you know that the Blue Swallow Motel was also an inspiration for Pixar’s 2006 movie, Cars? Look closely at the Cozy Cone Motel and you’ll see a sign that reads “100% Refrigerated Air.”
The Blue Swallow Motel continues as a functional piece of living history. In an ever increasingly impersonal world of corporate motel chains and uniform architecture, this motel stands out with warmth and individuality. Take refuge along the Dust Bowl Highway in the Blue Swallow.