High School Student's Art Brings the Neon back to NE Central

ALBUQUERQUE – Wednesday, the work of Summer Gonzales, a Highland High School student, turned the neon lights back on for Central Avenue in the City’s eastern corridor. Summer’s creation, almost two years in the making, was a cooperative endeavor funded by City Council and coordinated with the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, a local business owner, a local non-profit, and Summer, a Highland High School student.

"I was excited to support the Revamp Route 66 sign program," said District 9 City Councilor Renée Grout. "The finished result is beyond my dreams! I hope this will inspire other property owners to refurbish their signs. This makes me want to find funding for another round of grants as soon as possible!"

The owners of the billboard at 11035 Central Avenue, Daniel and Audrey Barela, replied to a letter from Councilor Renée Grout urging all the businesses along Central Avenue in District 9 to apply. Daniel and Audrey Barela wanted to work with a student at Highland High school, so she sought help from the school’s activities director, who made the connection with Summer Gonzales. The Friends of the Orphan Signs helped Summer refine her artwork so it would be readable in billboard size from a moving car. Summer completed the sign on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. 

"We were so excited to get the notification from Councilor Grout's office about the MRA grant funding to help refurbish the sign on our property," said sign owner Audrey Barela. "We knew right away that we wanted to work with an artist at one of the high schools, and Highland is so close to Route 66 that it just made sense. The Activities Director, Justin Landis, connected us with Summer and we love what she and Friends of the Orphan Signs created for us! It was a great collaboration and we couldn't be more pleased with the result."

The sign isn’t a typical highway billboard ad. It displays a giant vintage U.S. Route 66 badge emblem, with the sunset-hued Sandia Mountain range as a backdrop, complete with recognizable Albuquerque icons - hot air balloons and blooming yucca.  The billboard, located at 11035 Central Avenue, has brilliant eye-catching colors highly visible for morning westbound travelers. During nightfall, the sign’s neon lights shine brightly, a dazzling welcome for the legendary road’s weary travelers.

The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency’s “Revamp Route 66” Sign Improvement Grant Program preserves an important era of Albuquerque’s development through the restoration or renovation of Route 66 neon signs.

“MRA has been thrilled to work with the Arts and Culture Department and Ms. Barela to support this eye-catching sign on East Central, said Terry Brunner,” Director of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency. “We are excited to see this project completed in time for the Route 66 Centennial with renewed spirit and energy.”