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Route 66 Visitor Center

Learn about the Route 66 Visitor Center.

The City of Albuquerque’s Route 66 Visitor Center opens to the public on April 4, featuring a new photography exhibition, live music, and other activities. The opening marks an important step in reestablishing the center as a hub for community gatherings and special events, as well as a place for Route 66 Centennial activity. Beginning
April 9, the center will operate on regular, though initially limited, public hours. 

 The outside of the West Central Route 66 Visitor Center at 12300 Central.

Operating Hours & Information

Thursday to Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm
12300 Central SW, 87121
[email protected]

Exhibits

Centennial Roots | Now – October 2026  

Visit the gallery to experience the Centennial Roots Exhibit. A photographic homage to the landscape, culture, community, and traditions that have grown alongside Route 66 in New Mexico. In celebration of the Route 66 Centennial, this exhibition offers a firsthand experience of the cultural crossover the route has fostered over the past one hundred years. Through the contemporary lenses of New Mexico photographers Gabriella Campos, Jessica Roybal, and Nathaniel Tetsuro Paolinelli, the photographs trace the enduring relationship between movement and place, tradition and transformation. Their work encapsulates a century of lived experience, revealing how travel, migration, and exchange have shaped a distinctly New Mexican identity. Centennial Roots honors this growth, celebrating Route 66 not only as a road, but as a living archive of New Mexico’s cultural landscape.

Artists  

Nathaniel Tetsuro Paolinelli – I am a fine art documentary photographer rooted in Albuquerque since I was nine months old. While my work has taken me around the world, New Mexico remains the foundation of my creative life. My photography is shaped by long-term observation, deep relationships, and a commitment to documenting the people and places that define our communities. Much of my work focuses on everyday life in Albuquerque and throughout the state. I am especially interested in how history, culture, and identity are expressed through neighborhoods, public spaces, family businesses, and local traditions.

Jessica “Jessree” Roybal – My work explores cultural memory and identity in the American Southwest through photography rooted in architecture, infrastructure, and everyday life. With roots in northern New Mexico and a professional background in architecture, I approach photography as both documentation and interpretation—examining how the built environment, cultural landscapes, and ordinary objects carry layered histories. Now based in Albuquerque, my practice centers on Route 66 corridors, vintage neon signage, and classic cars as enduring markers of movement, commerce, and identity. These elements once shaped our streetscapes and co lective imagination, and they continue to exist—often overlooked—as quiet witnesses to change.

Gabriela Campos – I am a Santa Fe–born photojournalist whose work centers on visual storytelling rooted in culture, community, and tradition throughout the Southwest. As a staff photojournalist for The Santa Fe New Mexican, I document daily life across the region while also pursuing long-form narrative projects. My work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and other national publications, and is held in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the New Mexico History Museum, and the Spencer Museum of Art. My photographs are currently on view at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in the exhibition Corazón y vida: Lowriding Culture.

Route 66 Visitor Center Commission Meeting Information 

Meeting Schedule 

Meetings are held on the following Tuesdays at 3 pm in the conference room at the Route 66 Visitor Center:

  • January 27, 2026 
  • March 24, 2026  
  • May 26, 2026 
  • July 28, 2026 
  • September 22, 2026 
  • November 24, 2026 

Agenda & Minutes 

All other board and commission documents, including agendas, minutes, resolutions, and other related materials, are available through the OnBase database.

Follow the steps below to access the documents:

  1. Click the Link Below:
    Use the link provided below to access the OnBase database.
  2. Search for Documents:
    • Use the drop-down menu to specify the Board or Commission, record type, or meeting date.
  3. View or Download:
    • Click on the document title to view it directly in your browser.
    • Use the download option to save a copy for your records.

 HISTORICAL MEETING DOCUMENTS

Event Rentals

The venue is available for meetings, trainings, and presentations on limited days between the hours of 8 am to 5 pm.

For inquires, contact [email protected].

For more information on Route 66 visit: Learn about Route 66 in Albuquerque | Visit Albuquerque