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6 OLD TOWN: DON CUERVO’S ILLEGITIMATE VILLA

BOUNDARIES: S. Plaza St., San Pasqua Ave., Mountain Rd., Panmunjon Rd.

DISTANCE: 1.75 miles

DIFFICULTY: Easy

PARKING: Free parking on 20th St., north of Mountain Rd.

PUBLIC TRANSIT: Buses 66 and 766 on Central Ave. at Rio Grande Blvd.; bus 36 on Rio Grande Blvd. at Mountain Rd.

In 1706 Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdes, acting governor of the Province of New Mexico, boldly announced the founding of the Villa of Albuquerque. It proved to be a poor decision. In his haste, he’d failed to ask permission from the viceroy and, through him, the King of Spain. He also neglected the paperwork necessary to obtain a land grant for the new villa. The oversight soon cost him his job, and the legitimacy of Albuquerque would be debated for centuries to follow, even in the New Mexico Supreme Court as late as 1959. Legitimate or not, what stands on the founding site today is Old Town, a former town center packed with hundreds of boutiques, galleries, museums, hotels, and historic sites. This walk winds through hidden alleys and patios, then strays west to explore an “authentic” residential area outside of the tourist zone.

 Start at Plaza Don Luis, where you’ll find the Old Town Visitor Center. Pick up a few brochures and maps to enhance the walk ahead. If you start out with an odd sensation of walking on somebody’s grave, it’s probably because this small brick plaza was built upon Albuquerque’s first cemetery and the burials were supposedly left intact.Construction on the first church of Old Town began in 1706 nearby on the west side of the main plaza, but the structure wasn’t functional until 1718. It was originally named in honor of San Francisco Xavier but was renamed by decree of the Duke of Alburquerque to honor San Felipe, the patron saint of Spain’s new sovereign, King Felipe V. The order went neglected for many years. In 1776 Fray Francisco Domínguez inspected the church and found a painting of the local favorite saint over the main altar. Outraged, he demanded an image of San Felipe de Neri to be installed in its place. The name stuck from then on. Domínguez also expressed disappointment in the overall gloomy aspect of the church. There were no pews. The congregation sat on a dirt floor, women on the right side of the imaginary aisle, men on the left. It also lacked bell towers. A small arch held a pair of mismatched bells, both of them broken. He blamed the disorder on “lethargy and laziness.”In 1792 the alcalde mayor requested help from local residents to repair the distressed church, but the response was unenthusiastic. The structure continued to deteriorate until the following winter, when it completely collapsed. Rather than clear the rubble and rebuild on the original site, construction of the present San Felipe de Neri Church began on the north side of the plaza. The Folk Gothic spires were added in response to French Bishop (later Archbishop) Lamy’s 1851 reformation of New Mexico missions. The church remains active today and stands as one of Albuquerque’s most stunning landmarks. It’s open to the public daily. Masses are held on Saturday and Sunday.

 Go south on Romero St. On your left, five flags fly over the main plaza, each representing a governing entity that ruled here: Spain (1598–1821); Mexico (1821–1846); USA (1846–present); New Mexico (1912–present); and the Confederate States (1862) represented by the First Confederate National Flag (not the Stars and Bars).Somewhere within the Territorial-style souvenir shop ahead is a Queen Anne home known as the Henry Springer House. One of Albuquerque’s first German immigrants, Springer ran his hardware store into bankruptcy in the 1870s but later amassed a fortune in the saloon business. His house, built in 1890, is allegedly haunted by a harlot named Scarlett.

 Turn left on S. Plaza St. and walk along the stuccoed façade of storefronts and restaurants. On your left, a plaque on the Old Town Gazebo explains the Skirmish of Albuquerque. On April 8–9, 1862, shortly after the Union victory at Glorieta Pass near Santa Fe, Union troops positioned in Barelas (Walk 3) exchanged cannon fire with Confederates positioned in Old Town. Often exaggerated as “The Battle of Albuquerque,” the skirmish ended when a group of concerned citizens asked Major Canby to stop lobbing cannonballs at Old Town.On the east side of the plaza are replicas of Mountain Howitzers, the smallest cannon used in the Civil War. As Confederate forces continued their retreat to Texas, Confederate artillery commander Major Trevanion T. Teel secretly buried eight cannon barrels to prevent their capture by pursuing Union forces. He returned in 1889 to reveal the location: A chile pepper patch 500 feet northeast of San Felipe de Neri Church. If Teel had kept his secret, they’d be beneath the Albuquerque Museum. Instead, two of the eight original cannons are on display there.Signage on the adobe complex ahead claims that Casa de Armijo was built in 1706, though it’s more likely that the earliest construction began in the 1820s. It’s a classic placita (little plaza), developed for defense against Navajo and Apache raiders. Ironically one of the resident ghosts wears a gown with elaborate Navajo beadwork. The red and black pattern is based on the whirling log symbol, which traditionally denotes abundance, prosperity, healing, and luck. Visitors unfamiliar with native iconography occasionally mistake it for a swastika and describe the Armijo apparition in some variation of “the Mexican Nazi girl.”

 Continue straight down the zaguán (carriageway) to Patio Market. A branded board on the ceiling of the gateway seems to authenticate the property as belonging to Ambrosia Armijo. The fountain in this placita originally supplied the home with water. The buildings around you were the servants quarters for the Armijo Hacienda. Rooms were later converted into a schoolhouse, and later still into a boutique and photo gallery. Exit the patio on the east side.

 Turn left and walk through Plaza Hacienda. This secluded plaza with an outdoor kiva fireplace previously served as a hot spot for romantic rendezvous and thus became colloquially known as Honeymoon Row. The buildings also used to be the stables for the Armijo Hacienda and the Blueher House, which stands to the immediate northwest of Plaza Hacienda. German immigrant Herman Blueher introduced draft horses to Albuquerque in the early 1900s. His house was intact as recently as 1950, but soon after was “pueblo-ized” for its conversion to La Hacienda Restaurant. However, from this vantage point behind the restaurant, traces of the original Italianate style are evident.

Steadfast Soldiers