Lorin Morgan-Richards Presents Biographies of the West
The Hotel El Rancho Story
Directed by Lorin Morgan RichardsS9 • E5 Feb 14, 2026
The El Rancho Hotel Story focuses on the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, New Mexico, a famous Route 66 landmark that opened in the late 1930s and became a gathering place for Hollywood stars filming Westerns in the Southwest. The hotel was built by R.E. "Griff" Griffith, brother of film director D.W. Griffith, and served as a base for movie productions in the region. Many actors and film crews stayed there while making Western films. As with other entries in the Biographies of the West series, Lorin Morgan-Richards presents the history through narration, historical research, and colorized photographs, exploring how the hotel became an important part of Western film history and the culture of Gallup and New Mexico.
