THE BUILDINGS WE MADE, THE BUILDINGS THAT MAKE US

An Architecture Tour in Albuquerque

Albuquerque’s Route 66 has many histories laid right into the roadside. There have been historical community efforts to preserve the corridor’s architecture. Often, a new business will move into a historic building and alter the features to suit the business’s needs, like in the case of Albuquerque’s repurposed gas and service stations. Each neighborhood developed in special circumstances, therefore the architectural features of Central vary greatly from east to west. The city core’s notable regions, such as Old Town, Downtown and Barelas all differ significantly from one another in a matter of blocks. Historic buildings define the character of the main street and serve as inspiration for the future look of Central. Every location tells a story.

Old image from 1939 of the Jones Motor Company Historic Service Station.

Albuquerque Progress photograph circa October 1939. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Albuquerque National Bank. PA1980.061.272

Jones Motor Company Historic Service Station

3222 Central Ave SE

M’Tucci’s Bar Roma is housed within the historic Jones Motor Company Service Station. Built in 1939, the service station was designed by architect Tom Danahy in the Art Moderne style, taking elements of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne. Its impressive size is due in part to its ambitious vision: not only was the Jones Motor Company a gas and service station, it also housed a Ford dealership. Today, the original service station lettering remains on the façade above the swanky dining room and bar areas.

Andy Johnston Service Station

3523 Central Ave NE

Built in 1946 as a Standard Station called “F.V. McCormick’s Service,” the Andy Johnston Service Station maintains its Post-War Art Deco charm today. The small blocky tower, called a turret, has remained the same since its first construction. The only major change to the facade was the enclosure of the flat canopy facing Central Avenue. Today, the building houses Fan Tang, a popular Asian Fusion Restaurant.

Photograph, Andy Johnston Service Station, ca. 1955, gelatin silver print. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Rodney Carnes. PA2023.018.008

Photograph of the Monte Vista Fire Station circa July 1936. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Albuquerque National Bank. PA1983.001.251.

The Monte Vista Fire Station

The Monte Vista Fire Station is a prominent Works Progress Administration building in the heart of Nob Hill. It was constructed in 1936 and was a significant structure in the early years of the neighborhood. It is the third-oldest surviving fire station building in Albuquerque. Albuquerque architect Ernst H. Blumenthal designed the Monte Vista Fire Station in the distinctive Pueblo Revival style, a modernist style pioneered by John Gaw Meem with heavy influences from regional Pueblo architecture. The building was converted into a restaurant after being decommissioned as a fire station. These days, it is known as the Smoky Note, a swanky cocktail lounge whose name pays homage to the building’s original purpose.

Zimmerman Library

Another notable Pueblo Revival building along Route 66 is the University of New Mexico’s Zimmerman Library. The primary library on its campus, Zimmerman was one of architect John Gaw Meem’s largest projects and is an exemplar of the Spanish-Pueblo Revival style. Taking on classic New Mexican features such as beige stucco, wooden vigas, clay tiles and hand-carved decorative motifs, Zimmerman combines the regional vernacular with a Western academic sensibility. The marble-toned columns at the entrance simultaneously reference Neoclassical architecture often found in American institutional buildings and wooden colonnades traditionally found in the New Mexican Territorial style.

Photograph of UNM Zimmerman Library dated June 8, 1941. Albuquerque Museum, gift of John L. Fertig Jr. PA1995.053.004.

Historic Sam’s 66 Service Station

Albuquerque’s beloved 66 Diner honors the original 1937 Streamline Moderne service station, called “Sam’s 66.” In 1987, only two years after the decommission of Route 66, Sam’s 66 Service was purchased by Tom and Christy Willis and transformed into a sock-hopping 1950s-inspired diner. Home to more than 700 Pez dispensers, a jukebox, an outdoor vintage sign gallery and dozens of Betty Boop dolls, 66 Diner is a must-see.

Santa Fe Railroad Hospital

Hotel Parq Central is a romantic Italianate hotel on the corner of Central Avenue and Elm Street and the home of the Apothecary Lounge, a rooftop bar with panoramic desert views. Once upon a time, the elegant hotel was the official hospital for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad depot in Albuquerque. The Santa Fe Railroad Hospital opened in 1926 to serve employees of AT&SF, one of 13 along the Chicago to Los Angeles AT&SF route. In 1982, it was renamed “Memorial Hospital” to commemorate its new status as a mental health institution, providing psychiatric services to adults and children until the hospital’s closure in 2007. In 2011, the hospital was dedicated as a City Landmark and placed on the National Register of Historic Places with support from the Huning Highland Historic District Neighborhood Association.

Photograph of Santa Fe Railroad Hospital [Hotel Parq Central, 806 Central Avenue] circa 1935. Albuquerque Museum, gift of John Airy. PA1982.181.423.

Postcard photograph of the KiMo Theatre circa 1950. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Nancy Tucker. PA2021.065.029.

KiMo Theatre

In 1927, Italian immigrant Oreste Bachechi set out to create a performance center unlike any other. The KiMo was named by the Laguna Pueblo governor in a competition, a word that loosely translated to “king of its kind.” Nearly as old as Route 66 itself, the theater stands at the corner of Central Avenue and 5th Street. A one-of-a-kind Pueblo Deco palace, the building, which was designed by Carl Boller, incorporates classic Art Deco features (sleek lines and geometric ornaments) with various southwest Native American motifs. The “swastikas” on the facade are actually an ancient Navajo symbol known as the “whirling log,” representing the rotation of life and the Earth, the four sacred mountains and the cosmos. Inside the theater’s lobby are murals depicting the “Seven Cities of Cibola,” painted in 1927 by German-born Carl von Hassler.

Downtowner Motor Inn

717 Central Ave NW

On the western edge of Downtown is a late era Route 66 motel, formerly known as the Downtowner Motor Inn. Like the Imperial Inn in East Downtown, the Downtowner opened in 1965 as a multi-level chain motel. Memphis, Tennessee-based architect, James L. Burke, designed the six-story International Style property. However, the Downtowner bears a uniquely New Mexico addition: raised concrete panels depicting traditional Southwestern Native American symbols. These panels were covered and damaged in a 2007 renovation of the motel. The new ARRIVE Albuquerque Hotel commissioned a Navajo-influenced lowrider mural by New Mexico-based artist, Nanibah Chacon, to honor the building’s Native sensibility in a new way.

Postcard, Downtowner Motor Inn [717 Central Avenue NW], ca. 1980. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Nancy Tucker. PA2014.007.185

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H.T. Heister, stereograph of San Felipe de Neri circa 1874. Albuquerque Museum, PA2006.011.001.

San Felipe de Neri Church

The Catholic church in the center of Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza is an authentic Spanish Colonial structure. The San Felipe de Neri Church as seen today was built around 1796 and stands on the foundations of its predecessor. The original church began construction at the founding of Albuquerque in 1706 under the direction of Franciscan priest Fray Manuel Moreno. The original construction collapsed in a summer storm. It is one of the oldest churches in the United States. The twin Gothic towers, inspired by European cathedrals, were added in 1861 at the request of Archbishop Jean B. Lamy of Santa Fe. Today, San Felipe de Neri still operates for religious purposes, complete with a Catholic school and a public-facing museum.

El Vado Motel

El Vado Motel is a 1937 Route 66 motel that was among the first to incorporate Pueblo Revival-style elements, such as adobe, vigas and flat-top roofs, as a draw for tourists. Reflecting the environment and heritage of New Mexico, El Vado served travelers until 2005, when it was officially declared derelict. A new owner saved El Vado in 2008, planning for a massive restoration project that was completed in 2018. The new El Vado has a restored neon sign modeled after the original, a taproom and lounge, an outdoor entertainment center, a pool, and walkable grounds instead of drive-up parking spots.

Postcard of El Vado Motel circa 1960. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Nancy Tucker. PA2014.007.225.