Huning Castle Apartments
5 DOWNTOWN TO OLD TOWN: FOLLOW THE BRASS
BOUNDARIES: Civic Plaza, Old Town Plaza
DISTANCE: 1.75 miles one way
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARKING: Civic Plaza Parking Garage (Marquette Ave. west of 3rd St.); metered parking along Tijeras Ave. and 5th St.
PUBLIC TRANSIT: Bus 30 stops on the east side of Civic Plaza; bus 92 stops on the north side. Rail Runner Downtown Station is four blocks southeast of Civic Plaza.
In 1706 New Mexico Governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdes founded the Villa de Albuquerque on the site of what is now known as Old Town. Fast-forward to 1880: the railroad arrived about 2 miles east, encouraging commercial and residential development along its north–south tracks. The new town was called New Town and later New Albuquerque and was platted in a grid format—a pattern that sharply deviated from the plaza-oriented layout that was common to this Spanish Colonial region. Despite portents of the old-fashioned villa’s imminent demise, the two towns maintained a tenuous connection via a streetcar system and a powerful political district known as the Fourth Ward. So the villa persisted, although not without a struggle, and in 1949 the city annexed Old Town without overwhelming its original character. This walk examines their remaining differences and the prominent neighborhood that developed to fill the space between them. The route mostly follows Albuquerque’s official “Plaza to Plaza Tour,” a trail marked with brass plaques embedded in the sidewalks. The corresponding brochure is recommended for supplemental coverage of sites along the way. It’s available at visitor information centers located on both plazas.
Start anywhere in the Harry E. Kinney Civic Plaza. A statue of the former two-term mayor (striking a Captain Morgan pose) stands on the far northeast corner near Marquette Ave. and 3rd St. The plaza is big enough to accommodate 20,000 revelers during special events, typically on weekend evenings throughout summer. Prior to 1938 the original alignment of Route 66 ran through this space on its course between Santa Fe and Los Lunas. A later east–west alignment followed what is now Central Ave., two blocks south of the plaza. The intersection of 4th and Central (two blocks south) is the only place in America where historical alignments of Route 66 cross.On the south side of the plaza, a wrought iron column lit from within depicts 78 silhouettes ascending a smokestack. Five stone pillars surrounding it provide Holocaust memorial information. South of the sculpture, the Albuquerque Plaza building (aka the Bank of Albuquerque Tower) and its mini-me counterpart, the Hyatt Regency (aka Albuquerque Plaza II) are the two tallest buildings in town. Both were completed in 1990 on the site of what was a century earlier the heart of the red-light district. Built in the postmodern style, the pyramid-topped pair are the most recognizable features in the otherwise clunky skyline. Many of the larger structures nearby can be attributed to a decades-long infatuation with International-style architecture. Both Civic Plaza and the monstrous Convention Center on its east side were conceived in the height of the affliction and completed in 1972—more than 260 years after the plaza at the other end of this walk. At the time of this writing, the Civic Center was in the midst of an extensive and long-overdue makeover, 4th St. was reestablished between Marquette and Central, and plans were announced for additional renovations to the plaza.Opposite the Civic Center, the mismatched trio of buildings is the City/County Complex, which includes the mayor’s office and nearly 100 works from the Public Art Program collection. The old city hall building fronting Marquette Ave. appears to be the dullest on the block, but take a closer look at the polished limestone slabs facing the walkway and you’ll find a variety of fossils, including clams and snails. Sea lilies (crinoids) are the easiest to spot. The limestone came from travertine quarries located approximately 40 miles southwest of Albuquerque.
Walk west to the southwest corner of Marquette Ave. and 5th St., keeping an eye out for route markers. A mule cart indicates the direction to Old Town Plaza, and a locomotive to Civic Plaza. The pair of 14-foot Indians standing on the southwest corner is a masterpiece by Apache artist Allan Houser (1914–1994). Behind it is the 15-story Bank of the West, formerly the Albuquerque Petroleum Building. Dark red stone in the columns, walkways, benches, and entry is Carnelian granite from South Dakota, and the lighter stone is Radiant Red granite from Texas. The granites date back about 2.6 billion and 1.1 billion years, respectively.
Turn north and cross Marquette Ave. The Compass Bank building on the northwest corner houses New Mexico’s only Secret Service field office. Continue north, following the scent of fresh pastries, courtesy of Roma Bakery and Deli, ahead at the northwest corner of 5th and Roma. Directly across the street, narrow windows resembling embrasures are a security feature in the fortresslike Regional Correctional Center.
Turn west on Roma. A block ahead, Lew Wallace Elementary School stands on the west side of 6th St. While serving as governor of the New Mexico Territory from 1878 to 1881, Wallace also found time to finish his novel, Ben-Hur. The school building, completed in 1934, is Louis Hesselden’s first project as Albuquerque Public Schools architect. Hesselden later designed Highland High School and the Nob Hill Shopping Center (Walk 26).Just ahead on the northwest corner at 7th St. is the Brittania & W. E. Mauger Estate B&B Inn, a classic example of Queen Anne–style architecture. Maude Talbot ordered the construction of the brick house in 1897 for $1,600 on land she’d inherited from her father, W. E. Talbot, proprietor of the Montezuma Saloon on 2nd St. The popular saloon was the first in business in Albuquerque with electric lights. Likewise, Maude’s house was outfitted with push-button switches. After an unhappy marriage, however, she left the house and returned to New York. In 1907 her mother sold the house to W. E. Mauger for $4,350. Mauger came to Albuquerque from Boston in the hopes that the sunny, dry climate would clear up his tuberculosis. He opened a hardware store on 1st St., amassed a small fortune in the wool trade, and died in 1923. His wife, Brittania, followed in 1970 at the age of 102. The Estate has since undergone a major restoration. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and became a B&B in 1987.A block ahead, 8th St. delineates the east boundary of the Fourth Ward District, one of the city’s 14 historic districts listed on the National Register. The 1901 Albuquerque City Directory suggests that the Fourth Ward was a mix of middle class employers and laborers. However, it’s better remembered today as the elite district during the railroad era. Only a few of the most opulent homes are intact today.
Trumbull-Hesselden House
Cross Luna Blvd. and turn south, deviating slightly from the official tour to see the best example of Prairie School–style architecture in Albuquerque. Located on the west corner of Marquette Ave. and 10th St., the Berthold Spitz House was named for one of the many German Jewish merchants who contributed to the early economic development of New Albuquerque.
Turn west on Marquette Ave. and go one block to 11th St., also known as Judges’ Row. Before turning up that street, note the neon sign on the historic El Portal Apartments on the southeast corner. The U-shaped single-story building has a courtyard, ten units, and seldom a vacancy.
Turn north and head back toward Roma Ave. The house at 415 11th St. was home to John Simms when he served as a Justice for the New Mexico Supreme Court from 1929 to 1930. His sons John F. Simms Jr. and Albert G. Simms would later serve respectively as governor of New Mexico and a U.S. congressman.
Turn west on Roma Ave. to rejoin the official route. The Tudor Revival home on the northwest corner of Roma and 11th was designed by Kate Nichols Chaves and completed in 1909. Daughter of architect Nicholas Nichols, she lived here with her