This is a Fine Art photo of the classic neon sign of the EL VADO motel along Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is one of the more iconic neon signs on Route 66. This elaborate sign is neon art at it's very best. The motel has recently been closed. The fate of the sign is in doubt. There is an effort, by people interested in Historic Preservation, to save it. See the Winter 2005/06 issue of Route 66 Magazine. The problem is finding buyers who are into preserving the past, rather than buying just as an older building and turning into a cheap roadside motel. Or tearing down the exiting place and building townhouses, which this location was slated for. In 1993 the El Vado was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and was named as an Albuquerque city landmark. Thus saving it from the wrecking ball. But there are those that challenge this rule and still which to use the land for town houses. Sadly, the city council let many of the older Route 66 motels be torn down and now regret their decision, of not seeing the colorful past of Route 66 which was standing before them. Now there are rows and rows of ordinary townhouses, lending very little character to what was once an incredible road of the American past.