Albuquerque Museum Announces Major Centennial Exhibition

The Other Route 66: 100 Years of People, Identity, and Pla ce in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE – Albuquerque Museum is pleased to present the exhibition The Other Route 66: 100 Years of People, Identity, and Place in Albuquerque. This major work features over 300 historical artifacts, ephemera, photographs, and local stories about the history of Route 66 in Albuquerque over the past century.

As part of the City of Albuquerque’s centennial celebrations of the storied road, The Other Route 66: 100 Years of People, Identity, and Place in Albuquerque will be on view at the museum June 6, 2026 – January 3, 2027. November 11, 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Numbered Highway System, which effectively created Route 66.

The exhibition will allow visitors to engage with local Route 66 history in a nuanced way with stories that go beyond the traditional narrative. Candacy Taylor, author of the Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America, will give the opening talk and hold a book signing on Saturday, June 6, that specifically explores the Green Book and Route 66 in New Mexico. 

Additional specialized programming includes a speaker series with local experts on a variety of Route 66-related topics, relevant films, and a dance party that offers opportunities for wide community engagement. On July 15, the museum will hold a talk and book signing with Route 66 enthusiast Michael Wallis, noted author and voice of the sheriff in Disney Pixar’s Cars films. The programming will encourage visitors to explore the history of the road as it went through New Mexico and specifically how it shaped Albuquerque.

“Our city’s deep ties to Route 66 shine in this exhibition,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “The expert research and powerful storytelling involved create a really unique way to experience the history, culture, and spirit of the Mother Road.” 

The Other Route 66 explores connections between the road’s local and national identities. Builders of the route, difficult travel conditions, past and current small businesses, and the changing face of the road as it evolves with local transportation needs are part of the exhibition’s overall themes. In particular the exhibition will explore the relationship between Route 66 and Central Avenue in Albuquerque, and how local use challenges how we think of the history and impact of the national highway.

“Route 66 means different things to different people, but we’re exploring what it represents in Albuquerque,” said Dr. Alicia Romero, the museum’s head curator and curator of history. “One of my guiding questions has always considered ownership of Route 66: Who is allowed to lay claim to it and its history? Who is left out? This exhibition will challenge visitors to think about Route 66/Central Avenue as a thriving and ever-evolving part of our community.”

The exhibition and programming are generously supported by a grant from the Mellon Foundation and also made possible in part by the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Museum Foundation. 

In conjunction with The Other Route 66, the Albuquerque Museum has developed three smaller exhibitions, each examining a more focused aspect of life along Route 66 and New Mexico’s tourist economy:

● High Desert Ballyhoo (April 4 – December 13, 2026) presents advertising photographs created beginning in 1934, which so successfully lured auto visitors to spend time in the state that they inspired the creation of the New Mexico State Tourist Bureau.  

● Fred Harvey’s Route 66 (April 11 – December 6, 2026) shares maps, postcards, brochures, menus, and other ephemera produced by the Fred Harvey Company to promote hospitality and tourist opportunities in the Southwest. 

● Fun at the State Fair! (August 1, 2026 – February 14, 2027) celebrates historic objects, photographs, awards and more from the long history of New Mexico’s Territorial Fair, founded in 1881, and the State Fair that opens each fall along Central Avenue.

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