Тукумкари, Нью-Мексико: Демография и история города

City in the United States

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,989 people, 2,489 households, and 1,607 families residing in the city. The population density was There were 3,065 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 75.87% White, 1.29% African American, 1.39% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 17.10% from other races, and 2.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51.41% of the population. There were 2,489 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,560, and the median income for a family was $27,468. Males had a median income of $25,342 versus $18,568 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,786. About 19.1% of families and 24.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

The buildings formerly at Metropolitan Park (locally known as "Five Mile Park" because it is located about five miles (8 km) outside of town) were designed by Trent Thomas, adapted from his design of La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe. The park once featured New Mexico's largest outdoor swimming pool. Owing to deterioration, Metropolitan Park was named to the New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance's list of Most Endangered for 2003. In 2010, the park's main building caught fire and burnt to the ground. The city of Tucumcari razed the site weeks after the fire.

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. Billboards 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. 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.

Many of the scenes in the television show Rawhide (1959–1966) starring Clint Eastwood were shot in the Tucumcari area. Paul Brinegar, who played Wishbone, was from Tucumcari. Tucumcari is the setting of one of the first scenes in Sergio Leone's 1965 film For a Few Dollars More, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Gian Maria Volonté. This is a prochronism, as Tucumcari was founded many years after the historical period in which For a Few Dollars More takes place. A scene in the 1971 movie Two Lane Blacktop, starring James Taylor, Dennis Wilson, and Warren Oates, was filmed at a gasoline service station on U. S. Highway 54 just northeast of Tucumcari. Tucumcari Mountain is clearly visible at the beginning of this scene. In the novel series by David Stone featuring Micah Dalton, the lead character was raised in Tucumcari. Scenes for the film Hell or High Water were filmed in Tucumcari on June 1, 2015. A segment of the 2018 movie The Ballad of Buster Scruggs centers around an unsuccessful attempt to rob a bank in Tucumcari. A plot strand in season 5 of AMC's Better Call Saul, the prequel to Breaking Bad, revolves around legal battles to oust a resident from his house near Tucumcari so that Mesa Verde, Kim's client, can build a call center there. The hydrofoil Tucumcari was built by Boeing and began service in 1968. It was decommissioned in 1972 after running aground in Puerto Rico. In Barry Levinson's film Rain Man, Tom Cruise says he's in Tucumcari while on a payphone. Tucumcari is referenced in the song "Willin' by the country rock band Little Feat.