Redwood Lodge

Jim's Modern Court was built in Gallup in 1931 in Southwestern vernacular style and remains one of the best-preserved pre-World War II tourist courts along Route 66 in New Mexico. Jim Dougherty, a mechanic, operated a garage in the central courtyard of his motel. Some of the rooms had covered garage spaces between them. New owners in 1952 converted the automotive service garage into their dwelling, built a front office addition near the road, and renamed the motel the Redwood Lodge; they operated the business until 1983. The three buildings in the motel complex were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The complex remains a motel along N.M. Rt. 118, or "66th Avenue" as it passes through Gallup.

Jim Dougherty, a mechanic from Gallup, built the motel in 1931 and also operated an automotive garage in the center of the complex. James T. Dougherty was born in Colorado around 1900 and lived in Gallup by 1930 with his wife, Ellen (age 31, born in Kansas), and daughter, Jemmia N. (1). The couple married around 1926 and their daughter was born in Arizona. Jim owned his home in Gallup which was valued at $1,000.

The three one-story buildings that made up "Jim's Modern Court" (the office and two lodging units) were one-story, cement stucco over adobe, resting on a foundation of six-by-six-inch timbers. Some of the buildings included a partial basement. The flat roofs with stepped parapets and shed portals with brackets gave the complex a Southwestern vernacular style. Some of the rooms originally had garage spaces in between. The lodging buildings were along both sides and the rear of the lot and were shaped like an "I" or an "L."

New owners in 1952, Steve and Mary Rudnick, renamed the complex "Redwood Lodge." By then, "tourist court" had become an old-fashioned term for the 1920s/1930s motel complexes that often included covered garage spaces. In the 1950s, three of the garages were converted into rooms, giving a total of fifteen rooms. Also, the former garage in the central courtyard was converted into a manager's dwelling, and an office was added onto the building, fronting the highway. The neon sign in front of the office on a metal pole was no longer the original, when the complex was photographed in 1992 for listing in the National Register. The Rudnicks operated the Redwood Lodge until they sold it in 1983; the new owner was still running the motel in the 1990s.

Route 66 was decommissioned as a federal highway in 1985 and was largely replaced by nearby Interstate 40 for long-distance travelers. Redwood Lodge has survived and is still operated as a motel, now run by Mr. Hiru Patel, along the ten-mile stretch of the former Route 66 that passes through Gallup.

Chamber of Commerce.com. Redwood Lodge, Gallup, NM, Chamber of Commerce.com. January 1st, 2023. Accessed November 27th, 2023. https://www.chamberofcommerce.com/united-states/new-mexico/gallup/lodge/31613401-redwood-lodge.

Kammer, David J. NRHP nomination of Redwood Lodge, Gallup, New Mexico. National Register of Historic Places. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1996.

U.S. Census Bureau. Household of James T. Dougherty in Gallup district 9, McKinley County, New Mexico, dwelling 37, family 44. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1930.