been altered over the years, yet still retains many original features, such as the terra-cotta tile façade, green and black opalescent glass detailing, and, inside, a pressed metal ceiling.
Turn left on Park Ave. and pause at 8 o’clock on the roundabout. At 3 o’clock, The Hotel Blue first opened as Downtowner Motor Inn in 1965 and was given its current name in the late 1990s, when it was renovated into a boutique hotel with an Art Deco theme. Across the street to the west is Robinson Park, the city’s first outside of Old Town. A modest memorial in the park describes an incident involving former Indian scout John Braden. During a fiesta parade here in 1896, someone threw a firecracker into Braden’s horse-drawn wagon, which was packed with ammunition. (To clarify: the “ammunition” was for a fireworks display.) As it detonated, he managed to steer his startled horses away from the crowd, sacrificing his life to save many others. He now rests in an unmarked grave in Fairview Cemetery (Walk 23). The park also hosts the Downtown Growers’ Market on Saturday mornings, June–October. For more information, visit downtowngrowers.com.
Continue west on Park Ave. The prairie-style home on the left is the Milne House, built in 1917. John Milne served as superintendent of Albuquerque public schools from 1911 until his death in 1956. The house is now headquarters for the Southwest Network for Environmental Justice.A pair of buildings ahead on the left have ground-floor business space and upstairs apartments. Firenze Pizzeria moved into 900 Park Ave. in 2011, after a successful run with a food truck and a mobile wood-fired oven. Next door is Java Joe’s, a well-established yet funky café with a flashy mural, sidewalk seating, local ingredients on the menu, and handcrafted coffee. One wonders how the tenant in the apartment above could ever sleep with the invigorating aroma of high-octane morning brew permeating the walls.
Continue straight to the southwest corner of Park Ave. and 10th St. Need a haircut? Check out the cute little peluquería to the south. On the northwest corner are three ceramic-tiled columns at the entry to Washington Park. Titled Pillars of the Community, this public artwork is a collaboration between artist Eddie Dominguez, students from Washington Middle School, and elders from the neighborhood.
Turn right on 10th St. and head north to Central, passing the luxurious and stylish Silver Moon Lodge Apartments. The Pueblo Deco–style structure was built in 2014 on the site of the old Silver Moon Lodge, a classic Route 66 motel.
Turn left on Central. Washington Apartments stand on the southwest corner. This pair of two-story buildings, formerly a children’s hospital, was converted in 1917 to apartments. The floor plans for the 16 units are each unique. The building next door began as a single-family home in 1905. In 1930 the interior was divided into nine units, and it became the Colonial Arms Apartments. Additional units were added in the 1930s, bringing the total up to 16 by 1940. In the 1970s it became a youth hostel, and it’s now known as the Route 66 Hostel. Nightly rates range from $20 to $35.
Continue northwest on Central, noting the remains of its classic Route 66 motels and laundromats. Just past a minuscule brick duplex is the world-famous Dog House Drive In. The chili is lethally hot, so be sure to order it on everything, especially if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, which featured several scenes here.Ahead on the north side of Central Ave., Soldiers and Sailors Park is a triangular 0.15-acre military memorial that slumped into disrepair until local veterans banded together to fix it up in 2014.
Bell Trading Post Lofts
Turn left on 14th St. The first block of 14th St. constitutes the Aldo Leopold Neighborhood Historic District. These eight bungalows were built between 1913 and 1920. The one at 135 14th St. was built for Aldo Leopold himself, who resided in Albuquerque from 1914 to 1924. Leopold is credited with establishing the nation’s first federally protected wilderness area, and he’s often lauded as the founder of the modern natural conservation movement. He was an avid outdoorsman who, according to his own obsessive records, somehow managed to shoot more than 2,000 wild animals during his decade in New Mexico. None shot back. Oh, and if you think you just heard a lion or an elephant, don’t be alarmed. Though the city zoo is more than a half mile south, some animals’ voices carry far.Directly across the street are the massive Park Plaza Condos, the tallest residential building in New Mexico. Relative to the scale of things in its neighborhood, it somewhat resembles The Jeffersons’ deluxe apartment in the sky. Built in 1964, it never interfered with the conservationist’s view of the Sandia Mountains, yet one can’t help but wonder if there was intentional irony in placing a 14-story luxury high-rise building directly in front of the Leopold House. The building is an all-welded structure, requiring about 700 tons of steel. The brick façade is simply decorative. The foundation is a reinforced concrete box 674 feet long, 202 feet wide, and 8 feet deep.
Turn right on Los Alamos Ave. Note the traditional alley ahead on the right. Older neighborhoods like this were designed with backyard parking for carriages and cars so that streets and sidewalks would remain clear. This sensible layout fell out of fashion in favor of a trend for displaying vehicles in front of houses.
Turn right on 15th St.
Turn left on Central. Castle Apartments once stood here on the southeast corner. In 2009 fiery debris from an airline collision rained down upon the historic apartments. Or at least that’s how it went down in a popular TV show. Actual news footage of the apartment fire was repurposed for the third season of Breaking Bad. No one was injured in the blaze, but the building was a loss. A bank has since been constructed on the lot.Still standing unscathed, Huning Castle Apartments occupy the 1500 block of Central Ave. SW, the same site as the old Huning Castle. Constructed in 1880, the stately manor fell into disrepair faster than most traditional castles. It was offered to the city, but the city declined, citing the $400,000 restoration estimate. The notable landmark was demolished in 1955, and the land sat vacant until construction of the apartments began in the early 1990s. Architect Dekker Perich Sabatini intended to invoke the style of the original structure, which bore a closer resemblance to the Bates residence in Psycho than the upbeat complex standing here today.
Turn left on Laguna Blvd. and brace yourself for a completely different world. The divided boulevard and its broad median and sidewalks were completely treeless when the neighborhood was first platted. Large architect-designed homes began filling in this neighborhood in the 1920s and continued at a slower rate throughout the 1930s. The prevalence of California Mission, Mediterranean, and Pueblo Revival styles echoes the ambience of the adjacent Albuquerque Country Club. One exception is the Lembke House on the east corner at Los Alamos Ave. Adopting characteristics of both International and Streamline Moderne styles, contractor Charles Lembke took bold risks when he constructed it at the height of the Depression in 1937. Few other houses were built in the neighborhood at the time, and membership at the country club had already plummeted.The country club is at the end of the boulevard. Inside are elegant ballrooms, dining rooms, a pro shop, a fitness center, and card rooms for men and women. The construction of its 18-hole golf course, one of the first in the state, required draining about 100 acres of wetlands. The greens and fairways extend north to Central Ave. and west to Tingley Dr.
Continue straight on the sidewalk to cross the Albuquerque Riverside Drain. Tingley Beach is one of four attractions in the ABQ BioPark. This walk comes closest to the beach and the zoo, while Walk 8 passes near the botanic garden and aquarium. (See the Back Story in Walk 8 for detailed information on all BioPark attractions.)
Turn left on the ditch trail and follow it south to the first paved cross street. The narrow, well-shaded green on your left is Kit Carson Park, named for the legendary frontiersman, Union soldier, genocidal henchman, or Disney hero, depending on your view of history. (See the Back Story in Walk 30 for more details.)
