USA
New Mexico’s Hotel El Rancho Echoes of the Old West
By Randy Mink
A nyone smitten with nostalgic feelings for Hollywood’s Golden Age, Wild West lore or the heyday of Route 66 will be in heaven at Hotel El Rancho in Gallup, New Mexico. A fan of old-time cowboy movies, I couldn’t get enough of all the yesteryear trappings during my stay at this National Historic Landmark.
From 1940 to the mid-1960s, the El Rancho frequently served as a base camp for crews filming movies, primarily Westerns, against the backdrop of the vicinity’s striking red-rock scenery. Built in 1937 by the brother of famous Hollywood director D. W. Griffith, it offered rustic elegance for the day’s biggest box office stars. The guest list included John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Burt Lancaster, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Ronald Reagan, to name a few.
This year the El Rancho’s vintage neon signs are greeting a record number of Route 66 road trippers as they celebrate the highway’s centennial by cruising down remaining segments of the fabled ribbon of asphalt that ran from Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean. The rambling three-story hotel, a favorite with Route 66 buffs, was the highlight of my two days in Gallup. (See my New Mexico Route 66 article, page 82).
Public Areas
The dimly lit lobby is an atmospheric gathering place with an oversized fireplace, hand-hewn ceiling beams and curving twin stairways made of split logs. Mounted deer heads, a wagon wheel chandelier, hanging art-glass lamps, display cases with American Indian artifacts, and colorful Navajo-design rugs and throw pillows accent the grand space.
The red-carpeted staircases lead to a balcony that encircles the lobby below. This mezzanine, my favorite part of the hotel, abounds with Hollywood memorabilia. Plastering the brick walls are black-and-white stills from movies filmed in the area and portraits of individual stars, some of them autographed.
Fans of old Westerns appreciate the movie posters adorning the ranch-style Silver Screen dining room. Next door is the 49er Lounge, decorated with stained-glass Western scenes.
Guest Rooms
Murals with Native American motifs and Navajo-style carpeting liven up the guest room corridors. Sporting Western design elements like cowboy-print bed runners, each room bears the name of a dead movie star, whether they stayed at the hotel or not.
My room, number 311, was named after Mona Freeman (an actress I never heard of) and had a laminated poster of Copper Canyon, a 1950 picture in which she co-starred. As for the tiny, black-and-white-tiled bathroom, I could barely turn around. The sink was only a foot from the toilet, but the plumbing was modern and everything worked.
Guests are given instructions for operating the elevator, an antique equipped with a do-it-yourself metal gate.
Next to the original building is the motel annex, an option advertised by a flashing red rooftop sign that constantly switches back and forth between “Hotel El Rancho” and “Motel El Rancho” as the “M” replaces the “H” and vice versa. Photo-worthy electronic billboards framed by twinkling white lights stand guard by the road, Route 66.
