Tucumcari, NM - For more than 60 years, the Blue Swallow Motel has welcomed visitors touring the Mother Road to an evening's rest at an iconic stop on old Route 66.

But now the motel's famous neon sign is dark and the rooms are empty; a word that perfectly describes the way owner Hilda Bakke feels about having to sell the hotel.

"It's really sad that it's closed now," said Bakke from Minnesota, where she and her husband have moved to care for a dying relative. "We loved what we were doing, and we enjoyed living there, but family has to come first."

Bakke and her husband, Dale, became prominent residents of Tucumcari six years ago when they bought the famous stop on Route 66, which is listed on the state and federal registers of historic places. Their recent departure has left a hole in the community, said Mayor Mary Mayfield.

"We hate to lose them," Mayfield said of the Bakkes. "My husband and I don't live but about three blocks away, and they're good neighbors and good people."

The Blue Swallow was built in 1939 at a time when Route 66 was coming into its full glory. The motel features decor true to the era, along with the garages attached to every room that distinguish it as a true motor hotel.

Hilda Bakke said she and her husband, an electrician, put thousands of dollars and untold hours of work into remodeling the motel's dozen rooms.

The result was a landmark that attracted people from across the country and the globe, Bakke said.

"It was doing real good," Bakke said. "It was a viable business. It was our only source of income."

Mayfield said driving past the motel, it was easy to see how it had captured the imaginations of the thousands of people who still travel Route 66.

"In the summer, nearly every day, you saw people on motorcycles, people in motor homes, stopping there to have their pictures taken," Mayfield said. "It's been in all the magazines. People know it and they love it."

Richard Randals, owner of New Mexico Property Group, said he has had inquiries from across the country, and even from a person living in Australia.

Randals said he is confident the Blue Swallow will soon sell for the asking price of $165,000.

"That's not a lot of money for a piece of history," Randals said. "It's such a part of Route 66. Everybody knows the Blue Swallow."

Originally published online here: http://www.amarillo.com/stories/032005/new_1526723.shtml