El Rancho Hotel - Gallup

The El Rancho Hotel is located on East Highway 66 in Gallup, New Mexico.  It was built in 1937 for R.E. Griffith, brother of famed film director D.W. Griffith.  He felt that the area was a perfect setting for westerns, and filmmakers would relish the idea of filming there.  The hotel was to be the ideal stop along the way for the film crews and stars, and over the years it turned into just that.  From the 1930's throught the mid-60's countless films were shot in the area and dozens of stars lodged at the El Rancho.  In the lobby autographed photos of the stars adorn the walls, and special rooms are named after some of the more frequent celebrity guests.  Some of the many visitors include John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas, Errol Flynn, Alan Ladd, Burt Lancaster, Gregory Peck, Doris Day, Gene Autry, Jame Cagney, Tyrone Power, W.C. Fields, Spencer Tracy, Rita Hayworth, Robert Taylor, Lucille Ball, Mae West, The Marx Brothers, Jean Harlow, William Holden, Katharine Hepburn and Ronald Reagan.  The restored hotel still operates on Historic Route 66.  It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

 Submit photo(s) for this home.