Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

    Route 66 through Tucumcari has been known by several names. Originally it was called Gaynell Street, then the name was changed to Tucumcari Boulevard and then the name was changed yet again to Route 66 Boulevard, which is the name it is known by today. However, most of the businesses along the street still use Tucumcari Boulevard for their address.
  By any name, U.S. Highway 66 through Tucumcari was once a very busy thoroughfare. Today, it is lined with abandoned motels, abandoned gas stations, abandoned cafes and empty lots where buildings once stood.
  Tucumcari was once a thriving town of 12,000 people, but now the population is slightly below 5,000. Although Tucumcari has shrunk significantly over the decades, it looks even more forlorn and desolate than it probably would otherwise because the town was overbuilt to begin with. When it was a town of 12,000 people, it had more businesses than most towns of similar size usually did because it was such a thriving stop for motorists on Route 66, as those signs that proclaimed
"Tucumcari tonite  2,000 motel rooms" testified to.
  The last time I was in Tucumcari, I drove the length of Route 66 Boulevard through town, I counted all of the abandoned motels, restaurants and gas stations and wrote them down, but I have been unable to find the list lately. The number of abandoned gas stations was in the 20s and the number of abandoned motels and restaurants was, I believe, in the teens. This is just along Route 66, these numbers do not count other abandoned businesses that are in town on other highways. The western side of Tucumcari is littered with abandoned truck stops.
  Route 66 through Tucumcari was once called the "Little Las Vegas" because of all of the neon signs that once lined the fabled road. Today, there is very little neon along the street because most of the buildings are abandoned.
My first trip to Tucumcari was in 1994 and Route 66 Boulevard (Tucumcari Boulevard at the time), had fallen on hard times, but there was still a decent amount of neon illuminating the street, but that is no longer the case. 
  It is so sad to see what has become of what was once a thriving town. Tucumcari gets more and more rundown and dilapidated every year.