Charley's Automotive Service, at 1310 W. Santa Fe Ave., is a roadside business and home complex on the former route of

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

, in

Grants, New Mexico Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. It is located about west of Albuquerque. The population was 9,163 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Cibola County. Grants is located along the Trails of the Ancients Byw ...

. It was listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties on February 19, 2010. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2017. It is a set of five pumice block buildings associated with entrepreneur Charley Diaz. It includes a former automotive and radiator service, the Star Cafe, and Charley Diaz's residence. A few sheds and a stranded 1959

Chevrolet Bel Air The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1975 model years. Initially, only the two-door hardtops in the Chevrolet model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950 to 1952. With the 1953 model year, ...

, gift from Diaz to his wife. Together these "communicate in their form and simplicity a localized expression of the independent roadside business on U.S. 66." Alternate names include Charlie's Radiator Service and Star Cafe Drive-in. Includes 10 photos. "Charley (sometimes spelled Charlie) Diaz built the garage himself out of pumice blocks in 1943 along Santa Fe Avenue—Grants’ section of Route 66–amid a burgeoning strip of hotels, shops, and gas stations. According to the register application for the garage, Diaz later decided to specialize in two automobile components vital to New Mexico travelers–radiators and, eventually, air-conditioning systems–and, in 1949, added a small cafe for his great uncle to run. After Diaz’ death in 1995, the garage and many of the tools Diaz used, dating back to when it opened, remained in place."

References

National Register of Historic Places in Cibola County, New Mexico Rest areas in the United States U.S. Route 66 Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Commercial buildings in New Mexico Commercial buildings completed in 1943 Gas stations on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico {{NewMexico-NRHP-stub