Читать книгу Walking Albuquerque - Stephen Ausherman - Страница 10
Оглавление1 THE DOWNTOWN SCENE (AND WHAT’S BEHIND IT)
BOUNDARIES: Broadway Blvd., Gold Ave., 7th St., Lomas Blvd.
DISTANCE: 2 miles
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARKING: Numerous lots and free street parking north of Central Ave., west of Broadway Blvd.
PUBLIC TRANSIT: Buses 66 and 1618 on Central Ave. at Broadway Blvd. Numerous routes serve the area. Railrunner station is on 1st St. south of Central Ave.
Albuquerque is geographically divided into four quadrants that are officially part of any street address: NE (northeast), NW (northwest), SE (southeast), and SW (southwest). Central Ave. delineates north and south, the BNSF Railway tracks divide east and west. This walk hits all four quadrants, following a route as creative as the area it explores. Inspiration for this walk comes largely from expert wanderer David Ryan, author of the book and blog The Gentle Art of Wandering, who said, “When I walk in cities I hope to find a combination of interesting streets, alleys, paths, stairs, and whatever else is available along the way to make the walk special.” With that in mind I sketched out a route using the alleys, an underpass, and the viaduct; then David and I set out to walk it. As expected we wandered off course, dropped in on businesses where we had no business, talked to strangers, gazed upon murals, waved at security cameras, debated the purpose of seemingly pointless structures, reminisced about what used to be here, took guesses on what might be there in the near future, and generally spent an entire afternoon in awe of everything around us. In these mere 2 miles (an abbreviated version of our meander that day) are enough sites and stories to fill volumes. What follows then are the briefest possible descriptions of 30 or so random things that captured our attention.
Start at the southwest corner of Central Ave. and Broadway Blvd. First Baptist Church looms on the northwest corner with 87,000 square feet of building space on 7 acres of land. It sustained severe fire damage in 2010 and was on the market for $7.5 million in 2014 and was acquired by Innovate ABQ, an idea incubator that links local high-tech institutions with start-up companies to create innovative businesses.
Walk west on Central. These first two blocks to the underpass are the only part of the walk in Albuquerque’s southeast quadrant. Much like Four Corners Monument, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet, the center line of Central beneath the railroad tracks is where you could straddle Albuquerque’s four quadrants at once, but that’s not advised. Also in this underpass are a series of panels featuring historical photos and interpretive information. The translucent panels seem to light up as you approach or leave, depending on the angle of the sun. In 2014, the city announced plans to elevate the underpass, so you may find yourself crossing over the tracks instead.
Once you cross the tracks, the site on your right (a parking lot in 2014) is slated to become downtown’s premier entertainment hub. On your left, the first building you pass in the southwest quadrant is the Alvarado Transportation Center, a feature in Walk 3. For now continue past the neon signs for Century Theatres and Tucanos Brazilian Grill. The smoky aroma on this corner is difficult to resist for those who crave unlimited servings of charred and skewered meats. For those who prefer delicate fare, Sushi King is right next door. The next door down is Sunshine Theater, the hottest downtown spot to catch concert tours. Memorable shows in past years include CocoRosie and Insane Clown Posse. The six-story Sunshine Building, a reinforced concrete construction with a yellow brick façade, was designed by Henry C. Trost to house Albuquerque’s first movie palace, which opened in 1924. It’s one of a dozen or so buildings on this route that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Turn left on 2nd St. Blink and you’ll miss the Chama River Microbar tucked in the southwest corner of the Sunshine Building. The mural across the street is Mother Road, a tribute to Route 66 (Central Ave.) by Working Classroom. Poke your head in the alley ahead for Ernest Doty’s raven composition in aerosol and house paint, We Exist Somewhere Between Limbo and Purgatory. Past that is my personal favorite, Totem of the Ancient Ones, a triptych mural by Thomas Christopher Haag.
Turn right on Gold Ave. The first building on your left housed the National Institute of Flamenco for 15 years before it burned down at the end of 2013. Sidewalk cafés, art venues, and other hip ventures come and go on this quiet block. Vacancies are common and soon filled with pleasant surprises. Ahead at the northwest corner of 3rd St. stands the distinctive Occidental Life Insurance Building. Henry C. Trost designed this 1917 masterpiece to resemble Doge’s Palace in Venice. A fire in 1933 destroyed its mahogany and Circassian walnut interior, but its glazed white terra-cotta tile façade of Venetian Gothic arches remains largely intact.
Cross 3rd St. and turn right; then take a left into the alley on the north side of the Occidental Building. The most colorful mural on this block belongs to Burt’s Tiki Lounge, a Polynesian-themed faux dive that was inexplicably placed on Esquire magazine’s list of best bars in America. At the end of the block and fronting Central Ave. is the Rosenwald Building. Another creation of Henry C. Trost, this former department store opened in 1910 to carry the wares of Aron and Edward Rosenwald, German merchants who arrived in Albuquerque in 1878. The reinforced concrete structure is considered New Mexico’s first fireproof building, despite the fire that gutted it in 1921.
Before ducking down the alley in the 400 block, take a few steps south to see the plaque embedded in the sidewalk. It marks the geographic center of Albuquerque in 1912. (Over the century that followed, the geographic center shifted 1.5 miles north and about a quarter mile east. The 2012 plaque is on the north side of Coronado Park, between 3rd and 4th Streets.)
Now take a quick detour north to the Downtown Contemporary Gallery in the historic Yrisarri Block. This building was completed in 1909 and has housed the gallery and numerous artist studios since 1996.Other buildings you’ll sneak behind on the 400 block include the Old Post Office and the Albuquerque Federal Building, both fronting Gold Ave. The post office was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style in 1908. Since 2000, it has housed Amy Biehl High School, a charter school named for a high-spirited social activist from Santa Fe who, in 1993 at the age of 26, was murdered near Cape Town, South Africa. The six-story, 63,000-square-foot building by its side displays a marvelous assortment of Southwestern motifs throughout the exterior detailing. Take a detour to its front entry to check out the assortment of randomly placed terra-cotta petroglyphs inlaid around the archway, keeping in mind that swastikas were a distinctly Navajo motif when the building was completed in 1930.The eight-story, block-long former federal office on the south side of the alley ahead was probably built in the 1970s and has spent most of the current century echoing the sentiments of that era. In 1978 Susan Dewitt wrote in Historic Albuquerque Today, “Off Central, pedestrians are often faced by blank-walled buildings, menacing and uninviting.” No doubt she had this structure in mind. Apparently immune to arson, the Modern monstrosity sold in an online federal auction in 2007 for $1.51 million and as of 2014 remains vacant.On your right the wall art really starts to pop. Whether it’s vandalism or public art often depends on who funded it. For example, stencils indicate which works are sponsored by 516 Arts. This unassuming art gallery fronting Central is a powerhouse for generating citywide events. It also hosts exhibitions by renowned international contemporary artists and occasionally displays masterpieces by the author of this book. Continue straight through the 600 block ahead, enjoying yet another hidden showcase of wall art.
Turn right on 7th St. at the end of the last alley and go a half block north.
Turn right on Central. Standing here on the southeast corner and named for its former owner Luigi—not his cousin, the legendary opera composer Giacomo—the Puccini Building housed both Puccini’s Golden West Saloon and the El Rey Theater, built in 1929 and 1941 respectively. The latter is noted for hosting such music legends as Ella Fitzgerald and Arlo Guthrie. In 2008, shortly after major restorations to the historic structure, a fire gutted the Golden West, but the El Rey survived and received another round of restorations in 2012. The neighboring club, Launchpad, also survived and remains the best bet in town for cheap drinks and cutting-edge music acts. Underground music legends hosted here include Melt-Banana and Agent Orange. The next door down is the Holocaust & Intolerance Museum, a sobering reminder of human atrocities committed throughout the world.
Turn left on 6th St., crossing Central and entering Albuquerque’s northwest quadrant. Sushi Hana is on the northeast corner, in case you skipped Sushi King. Go half a block north.
Turn right into the alley in the 500 block. The last building on the right is commonly referred to as the Old Sears Building. Expanded in 1955 following an interior fire and renovated in 1990, the 56,000-square-foot office building was on the market in 2014 for a mere $2.75 million. Its Streamline Moderne style stands in stark contrast to its Pueblo Deco neighbor to the east. The KiMo Theater, the pièce de résistance of downtown architecture, was commissioned by Oreste and Maria Bachechi, parents of Carlo Bachechi, whose family farm is featured in Walk 14. A boiler explosion in 1951 demolished the original lobby and killed 6-year-old Bobby Darnall, who allegedly haunts the theater to this day. A fire in 1963 destroyed the original stage. The KiMo dodged the wrecking ball in 1977 and has since undergone extensive restorations.Also on the 400 block, Sister is a relatively new hipster bar with patio seating, pub games, and live music. The significantly older yet equally hip Anodyne pool hall is directly above it. Both have a fantastic beer selection. At the end of the block, across 4th St., the brick building ahead on the left was built in 1906 and has housed the Telephone Museum of New Mexico since 1997. Hundreds of phones are on display, along with switchboards, teletype machines, and a 2,000-pound, 7-foot bronze medallion. Hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Continue down the alleyway another two blocks.
Turn left on 2nd St. Hotel Andaluz, the ten-story tower on the nearest corner, was built in 1939 as the first Hilton in New Mexico. At the time it was the tallest and the only air-conditioned structure in the state. Tapas and other exotic fare are available at MÁS, the elegant restaurant on the ground floor, and at Ibiza, the casual patio bar above it.
Continue north past the First Plaza Galleria and the Convention Center. The southeast corner of 2nd St. and Roma Ave. has been the site of various laundry operations for more than a century. The present building was designed by Louis Hesselden in the early 1940s. Often mistaken for a vintage cinema or bus station, the Moderne-style structure is commonly referred to as the Excelsior Laundry Company Building, also known as the American Linen Supply Building and the Ameri-Pride Building. Murals on its exterior walls illustrate its history.
Southwest Brewery and Ice Co. Building overlooks the railroad tracks.
Turn right into the second parking lot entrance north of Plaza del Sol (the building shaped like a Mayan pyramid), and then walk east to 1st St. The arrow ahead indicating a “drive in fur & hide” is a bit misleading. It’s simply an old drive-in sign partially painted over and relocated to R.L. Cox Co., which boasts an impressive inventory of animal-based materials. Their neighbor to the south is a black box known as The Cell, where the FUSION Theatre Company has been producing and performing great American plays since 2001.
Turn right on 1st St. and detour into the parking lot for a closer look at the Southwest Brewery and Ice Co. Building. The trackside operation began in an adobe structure that was destroyed by fire in 1887. The brick-tower complex replaced it in 1902. When the state enacted prohibition in 1917, the brewing permanently ceased, but ice production continued until 1997. Real estate mogul Joe Maloof snapped up the vacant building allegedly because his mom thought it was one of the prettiest buildings she had ever seen. An adjacent warehouse burned down months later, slightly damaging the tower.Warehouses near the south end of 1st St. are the city’s last remnants of an era when sheep surrounded the city and wool was a major industry. Youth Development Inc. occupies the Wool Warehouse, offering such services as after-school tutoring, gang intervention, and public housing assistance. Warehouse 508 is the town’s biggest arts and entertainment center for youth. Serving as both a practice and performance space, it’s likely the place to find the great local artists, actors, poets, DJs, dancers, and musicians of tomorrow. Walk-ins are welcome to tour the 26,000-square-foot facility. The mural on its south-facing wall is Quantum Bridge, described by artist Aaron Noble as “a semi-abstract time travel epic with aesthetic roots in comics, graffiti, and hip-hop.”
Turn right at the end of 1st St. and follow the sidewalk west toward 2nd St.
Take a sharp left onto the viaduct and stay on the sidewalk until you cross back over the tracks, this time entering the northeast quadrant. Admittedly the view is better walking west, so look back every so often to admire the skyline. The eastbound view provides a dramatic illustration of the vast amounts of space we dedicate to parking lots. Try to enjoy the mountain vistas as well. The Sandias peak about 12 miles east. The tracks below appear to be on a collision course with the Jemez Mountains rising about 40 miles north.
Turn right on Broadway and use the crosswalks to safely navigate your way back to where you started. For reference, First Baptist Church is the big brick building one block south.Expert wanderer David Ryan recaps the walk accordingly: “I didn’t know what to expect at the start of the walk, but as we kept going we ran into something interesting at almost every turn. The unique designs on the old Federal Building were a total surprise. It’s worth a visit on its own. When I lived in Albuquerque in 1969, the Old Sears Building is where preinduction physicals were held by the military. Sears was long gone from downtown and located in Coronado Mall. Coronado and Winrock malls ended major retail downtown. Another unexpected highlight was when we took the elevator to the top of a parking deck at 3rd and Copper and had uninterrupted views of the Sandias to the east, the Manzanos to the south, and downtown all around us. This is a walk I would be happy to do over and over again.”
POINTS OF INTEREST
Century Theatres cinemark.com/theatre-447, 100 Central Ave. SW, 505-243-9555
Tucanos Brazilian Grill tucanos.com, 110 Central Ave. SW, 505-246-9900
Sushi King sushikingnm.com, 118 Central Ave. SW, 505-842-5099
Sunshine Theater sunshinetheaterlive.com, 120 Central Ave. SW, 505-764-0249
Chama River Microbar chamariverbrewery.com, 106 2nd St. SW, 505-842-8329
Burt’s Tiki Lounge 313 Gold Ave. SW, 505-247-2878
Downtown Contemporary Gallery downtowncontemporary.com, 105 4th St. SW, 505-363-3870
516 Arts 516arts.org, 516 Central Ave. SW, 505-242-1445
El Rey Theater elreytheater.com, 622 Central Ave. SW, 505-242-2353
Launchpad launchpadrocks.com, 618 Central Ave. SW, 505-764-8887
Holocaust & Intolerance Museum of New Mexico nmholocaustmuseum.org, 616 Central Ave. SW, 505-247-0606
Sushi Hana sushihananm.com, 521 Central Ave. NW, 505-842-8700
KiMo Theater kimotickets.com, 421 Central Ave. NW, 505-768-3522
Sister Bar sisterthebar.com, 407 Central Ave. NW, 505-242-4900
Anodyne theanodyne.com, 409 Central Ave. NW, 505-244-1820
Telephone Museum of New Mexico telecomhistory.org, 110 4th St. NW, 505-842-2937
Hotel Andaluz hotelandaluz.com, 125 2nd St. NW, 505-242-9090
MÁS hotelandaluz.com, 125 2nd St. NW, 505-923-9080
The Cell fusionabq.org, 700 1st St. NW, 505-766-9412
Warehouse 508 warehouse508.org, 508 1st St. NW, 505-296-2738
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Start at the southwest corner of Central Ave. and Broadway Blvd. and walk west on Central Ave.
2 Turn left on 2nd St.
3 Turn right on Gold Ave.
4 Turn right on 3rd St. and go half a block north.
5 Turn left into the alley.
6 Turn right on 7th St.
7 Turn right on Central Ave.
8 Turn left on 6th St. and go half a block north.
9 Turn right into the alley.
10 Turn left on 2nd St.
11 Turn right into the second parking lot entrance north of Roma Ave.
12 Turn right on 1st St.
13 Turn right at the end of 1st St.
14 Take a sharp left onto the viaduct.
15 Turn right on Broadway Blvd.
CONNECTING THE WALKS
Walk 2 begins on the southeast corner of Central and Broadway. Walk 3 begins on 3rd St. one block south of Gold. To connect with Walk 4, continue one block west from the alley south of Central. For Walk 5, turn left on 4th St. from the alley north of Central and go two blocks north.
Pueblo Deco details on the KiMo Theater
