REAL ESTATE
El Rey Court marks 90 years along New Mexico鈥檚 original Route 66
From a 12-room motor lodge to a 5-acre retreat, El Rey Court hearkens back to slower times in Santa Fe
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SANTA FE 鈥� Santa Feans and visitors to the City Different tend to breathe a little easier once they鈥檝e exited the mad dash of traffic, pedestrians and commerce that is Cerrillos Road.
El Rey Court, a 1930s motor lodge that has grown into a 5-acre campus of old-growth gardens, hand-painted artwork and mid-century chic, hearkens back to a slower time, when there were more reasons to linger along this forgotten segment of the Mother Road.
As Route 66 reaches its centennial, the motel recently celebrated 90 years since first opening to Dust Bowl-era locals needing a night away from home and travelers rumbling into New Mexico鈥檚 capital city.
Irish-born hotelier Daniel Murphy originally named the motel El Rey Inn when he opened it in 1936, a year before New Mexico redrew Route 66 from a parabola with Santa Fe at its apex into a nearly straight shot from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque to points west.
Designed as a 12-room motor lodge, Murphy eventually converted its original carports into additional rooms in the 1950s and dug a heated swimming pool, where both guests and locals can take a dip today.
Adding texture to its history, El Rey Inn was listed in the 鈥淕reen Book,鈥� which was published from 1936-1964 to designate safe places for Black Americans to stay before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the National Park Service.
Santa Fe local Terrell White purchased the motel in 1973. He expanded its courtyards over the decades, acquiring and conjoining the 1950s-era Alamo Lodge next door in 1994.
Texan Jeff Burns bought the property with New York-based partner Matthew Comfort in 2016 after staying the night in 2010. Burns became enamored with the space, envisioning tasteful updates to preserve the lodge鈥檚 charming vigas, kivas and leafy courtyards.
They completed renovations and upgrades in 2018, renaming the motel El Rey Court to signify a new era.
Today, the property displays that delicate balance restoration work seeks to achieve 鈥� the high sheen of modern amenities, with the motel鈥檚 86 rooms and suites updated with new furniture and artwork, while retaining the rough charm of a bygone era.
The motel was near capacity on a sun-drenched Saturday in July.
Guests ambled about the property鈥檚 manicured lawns, in and out of rooms framed by snaking vines and orange trumpet flowers turning in the heat.
In the evening, a small crowd gathered for drinks featuring tequila and mezcal in La Reina, a bar Burns and Comfort added inside the motel, or ordered Fire Cracker Chicken Tenders from the onsite food cart, La Reina Mesita.
Overhead, the motel鈥檚 iconic sign glowed bright orange-red over a stretch of roadway that for many New Mexicans remains an important if sometimes overlooked piece of Santa Fe history.
鈥淲e are so happy to be restored and a place where community can gather,鈥� Mia Gonzales, marketing coordinator at El Rey, said while walking the grounds. 鈥淩oute 66 is among our nation鈥檚 most beloved routes for people to gather and learn history about our country and the stops along the way.鈥�
John Miller is the Journal鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.
