Editing Tucumcari, New Mexico (section)

===Tucumcari Tonite, Route 66, and tourism===
[[File:Blue Swallow Motel from SW 2.JPG|thumb|[[Blue Swallow Motel]], 2012]]
[[File:Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico.jpg|thumb|Route 66 in Tucumcari, 2020]]

For many years, Tucumcari has been a popular stop for cross-country travelers on [[Interstate 40]] (formerly [[U.S. Route 66]] in the area). It is the largest city on the highway between [[Amarillo, Texas]] and [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]. [[Billboard]]s reading "TUCUMCARI TONITE!" placed along I-40 for many miles to the east and west of the town invite motorists to stay the night in one of Tucumcari's "2000" (later changed to "1200") motel rooms. The "TUCUMCARI TONITE!" campaign was abandoned in favor of a campaign which declared Tucumcari, "Gateway to the West". However, on June 24, 2008, Tucumcari's Lodgers Tax Advisory Board, the group responsible for the billboards, voted to return to the previous slogan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2008/06/25/abqnewsseeker/715am-tucumcari-tonite-returns-to-billboards.html|newspaper=Albuquerque Journal|title='Tucumcari Tonite' Returns to Billboards|date=June 25, 2008}}</ref>

Old U.S. Route 66 runs through the heart of Tucumcari via Route 66 Boulevard, which was previously known as Tucumcari Boulevard from 1970 to 2003 and as Gaynell Avenue before that time. Numerous businesses, including gasoline service stations, restaurants, and motels, were constructed to accommodate tourists as they traveled through on the Mother Road. A large number of the vintage motels and restaurants built in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s are still in business despite intense competition from newer chain motels and restaurants in the vicinity of Interstate 40, which passes through the city's outskirts on the south.

Tucumcari is the home of over 50 murals. Most were painted by artists Doug and Sharon Quarles and serve as a tourist attraction.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/new-mexico-couple-s-murals-helping-bring-tourists-to-their-town/1757746500|publisher=[[KRQE]]|title=New Mexico couple's murals helping bring tourists to their town|date=February 6, 2019|access-date=2019-02-07|archive-date=March 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321101915/https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/new-mexico-couple-s-murals-helping-bring-tourists-to-their-town/1757746500|url-status=dead}}</ref>