Road to Ruin Police are frequent visitors to the motels, responding to thousands of crimes in recent years. A Port in the Storm Some motels resist the drug dealers and prostitutes, providing a haven for working-class families. Down the Road The future of the motels includes nostalgia, reuse and, perhaps, bulldozers. Central Motels Slide Show (Flash Required) Related Links N.M. Route 66 Association Database of Motel-Related Crime This database includes records of about 3,500 res filed between Jan. 1, 1997 and Dec. 31, 1999 by Albuquerque police. All of the reports list the address of a Central Avenue motel. That doesn't mean that each of these reported crimes occured inside the motels. Some did. Others may have been in the parking lot or on the street in front of the motel. Traffic offenses and other minor offenses, such as disorderly conduct, are not included in this database. -- Choose A Motel -- *** Any Motel *** Adobe Manor Motel American Inn Americana Motel Aztec Motel Best Western American Bow & Arrow Lodge Budget 8 Inn Canyon Motel Cibola Court Motel Comfort Inn East Crossroads Motel Days Inn (Tramway) Deanza Motor Lodge Deluxe Inn & Suites Desert Sands Motor Hotel Downtown Inn Econo Lodge (Old Town) Econo Lodge (Tramway) Economy Inn El Don Motel El Vado Motel Express Inn Family Budget Motel French Quarters The Gaslite Motel Grand Western Motor Inn Grandview Motel Hacienda Motel Hiway House Motel Howard Johnson Express Imperial Inn Motel La Mesa Motel La Puerta Lodge Lazy H Motel Loma Verde Motel Lorlodge Motel East Luna Lodge Luxury Inn Monterrey Motel Motel (Unnamed) Motel 6 Nendels Valu Inn Nob Hill Motel Pinon Motel Pioneer Motel Premiere Motel Prince Motel Ramada Inn Downtown Relax Motel Riteway Inn Rosevilla Motel Route 66 Royal Hotel Sand And Sage Motel Sandia Motel Stardust Inn Super 6 Tewa Lodge Town Lodge Trade Winds Motel Travel Inn Travel Lodge University Lodge Westward Ho Motel Zia Motor Lodge (Downtown) Zia Motor Lodge (San Mateo) -- Choose A Crime -- *** All Crimes *** Aggravated Assault All Other Larceny Arson Assisting/Promoting Prostitution Bribery Burglary/Breaking and Entering Credit Card Fraud Destruction of Property Drug Equipment Violations Drug/Narcotics Violations Embezzlement Extortion/Blackmail False Pretenses/Swindle Forcible Fondling Forcible Rape Forcible Sodomy Impersonation Intimidation Kidnapping/Abduction Motor Vehicle Theft Murder Prostitution Robbery Simple Assault Statutory Rape Stolen Property Offenses Theft from Building Theft from Motor Vehicle Theft of Motor Vehicle Parts Weapons Law Violations

A woman who says she is a prostitute smokes a cigarette under the glow of the lights from the American Inn on Central Avenue. American tourists used to speed along Route 66, the famed mother road connecting the Midwest to California. In Albuquerque, they rested at the dozens of motels that lined Central Avenue. But Interstate 40 soon left the motels in the shadows, and now they're magnets for drug dealing and prostitution. How bad is the crime and what, if anything, can the city do about it? Journal reporter Scott Smallwood explores these questions in a three-part series. DAY 1 The Seamy Side of 66 Police crackdowns at the Sand & Sage Motel and the Relax Inn made headlines in the past year as authorities shut down places they described as open-air markets for drugs and sex. But most daily incidents at many of the older motels along Central Avenue get less attention. Full Story Crackdown on Motels Motel Slayings Lodge Owner Turns Away 'Street Trash' Decades ago Central Avenue was a two-lane road that seemed to trail off to nothing east of Wyoming Boulevard. That's how Pauline Bauer remembers it. (September 3) Ownership Connections Make Accountability Difficult A complex web of about two dozen people connects more than half the motels along Central Avenue. (September 3) DAY 2 A Port in the Storm for Some Some Central Avenue motels that once catered to Route 66 tourists are beseiged by prostitutes and drug dealers. But the strip is also home to owners and residents trying to make a decent life. Full Story Homey Atmosphere Sets Aztec Apart Mohamed Natha sounds like a grandfather reciting a long list of offspring as he rattles off the names of people staying at his Aztec Motel. (September 4) DAY 3 Nostalgia, New Uses Could Salvage Central Motels When talk turns to the future of Central Avenue motels, optimists say they should take advantage of Route 66 nostalgia. Full Story