Albuquerque adds neon gateway sign on East Central for Route 66 branding
Albuquerque raised a new East Central neon gateway sign, backed by a $328,800 state tourism grant, as Route 66 centennial branding accelerates.
Albuquerque raised a new neon-inspired gateway sign on East Central Thursday, adding another marker to its Route 66 campaign ahead of the highway’s 2026 centennial. The sign is meant to welcome drivers as they enter Albuquerque and thank them as they leave, with Mayor Tim Keller calling it part of a broader effort to celebrate the city’s neon-lit past.
The East Central project was funded through a $328,800 New Mexico Tourism Department Destination Forward grant. Thursday’s work was only the installation and raising of the structure, with the lighting ceremony still to come.
Albuquerque’s Route 66 stretch runs 18 miles and is the longest continuous urban stretch of the Mother Road in the country. The city has tied the East Central sign to its Route 66 Centennial preparations for 2026, with the campaign ramping up in 2025 for Route 66’s official 100th birthday on Nov. 11, 2026. The East Central sign is an “iconic neon sign” for that anniversary.
The gateway sign joins refreshed signs in Old Town and Nob Hill and a new West Side neon sign. Albuquerque’s Route 66 sign improvement program was originally announced as a $432,000 investment by the Department of Arts & Culture and the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, and 14 historic Route 66 signs were funded after more than 25 applications were received. The program was aimed at restoring and rehabilitating historic signs along Central Avenue while bolstering energy, economic impact, activation and tourism.
Route 66-related external funding from the New Mexico Tourism Department totaled $788,800, including the East Central grant. The state’s Destination Forward program is a competitive grant effort focused on long-term tourism infrastructure and visitor-experience projects, and Albuquerque officials said in January 2025 that the Department of Arts & Culture had secured $565,000 in outside funding for Route 66 public art experiences and activations for 2025 and 2026.
The Old Town Association has already used FY25 Route 66 Centennial grant funding to install a neon entrance archway at the south end of Old Town, and a later “Route 66 Remixed” art campaign adds murals and business partnerships.
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