west of Santa Fe, Spain. The reference seems to end there, since the apartments’ overall look is a mix of Pueblo and California Mission styles, and its interior living spaces were built on an absurdly dwarfish scale.By contrast, the Mrs. T. I. Butts House, at 201 High St., is a robust, no-nonsense construction of wood and cast stone. Built in the late Queen Anne style, the house is named for a principal of the First Ward School in the early 20th century.
Turn right on Copper Ave. Standing on the corner of Walter St., the McQuade House is a highly ornamented cottage with an octagonal gazebo porch. Its first resident, J. W. McQuade, was the architect for the John Milne House (visited on Walk 4).
Turn right on Edith. The Mike Ehrmantraut House, residence for the badass hit man in the Breaking Bad series, is the third house on the right. (He doesn’t live there anymore, so respect the privacy of the current residents.)
Turn left on Tijeras Ave. and walk past the north end of the Old Albuquerque High School campus.
Turn left on Broadway to return to the starting point.Notable architect and celebrated tubaist Mark Weaver fondly recalls his favorite features on the walk: “My mom graduated from Albuquerque High School in 1953. She used to hang out at the Highland Drugstore, which was on the southeast corner of Central and Broadway, and would frequent the library at Central and Edith, which at that time was the only public library in town. . . . There are so many fascinating houses in this neighborhood, but my particular favorite is the Cristy House with all its octagonal structural elements.”
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Lofts at Albuquerque High (EDo Spaces) abqhigh.com, 401 Central Ave. NE, Suite D, 505-247-3935
Standard Diner standarddiner.com, 320 Central Ave. SE, 505-243-1440
Special Collections Library abclibrary.org/specialcollections, 423 Central Ave. NE, 505-848-1376
Artichoke Cafe artichokecafe.com, 424 Central Ave. SE, 505-243-0200
Grove Cafe & Market thegrovecafemarket.com, 600 Central Ave. SE, 505-248-9800
St. George Greek Orthodox Church stgeorgenm.org, 308 High St. SE, 505-247-9411
Albuquerque Press Club www.qpressclub.com, 201 Highland Park Cir. SE, 505-243-8476
Hotel Parq Central hotelparqcentral.com, 806 Central Ave. SE, 505-242-0040
Downtown Historic B&B downtownhistoric.com, 207 High St., 505-842-0223
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Start at the southeast corner of Central Ave. and Broadway Blvd. and walk east on Central Ave.
2 Turn right on Walter St.
3 Turn right on Lead Ave.
4 Turn left on Broadway Blvd.
5 Turn left on Coal Ave.
6 Turn left on High St.
7 Turn right on Silver Ave.
8 Turn left into Highland Park and follow the paved walkway to the top of the hill; then follow the driveway down to Gold St.
9 Continue straight on Elm St.
10 Turn left on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
11 Turn left on High St.
12 Turn right on Copper Ave.
13 Turn right on Edith Blvd.
14 Turn left on Tijeras Ave.
15 Turn left on Broadway Blvd.
CONNECTING THE WALKS
Walk 1 begins at the southwest corner of Central and Broadway.
Ford Thunderbird, a classic for cruising Route 66
3 BARELAS: LAND OF MI CHANTE
BOUNDARIES: Gold Ave., 1st St., National Hispanic Cultural Center
DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARKING: Street parking on Silver Ave. near 2nd St., parking garage on 2nd St. south of Gold Ave., ample free parking at National Hispanic Cultural Center
PUBLIC TRANSIT: Bus 40 on 3rd St. at Silver Ave. Buses 66, 766, 777, and many others stop at the Alvarado Transportation Center. Bus 54 travels 4th St. between Silver Ave. and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Numerous other routes serve the area.
Barelas emerged in the 19th century as a farming village near a site where the Camino Real crossed the Rio Grande. With the arrival of the railroad in 1880, Barelas quickly grew from an agricultural community into an industrial neighborhood dominated by Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway shops along 2nd St. Commerce increased when Route 66 coursed through the neighborhood in 1926, but its realignment in 1937 bypassed Barelas. The closure of the railroad shops in 1970 eliminated 1,500 jobs from the community. Adding insult to injury, the city disconnected the main route into Barelas to create Civic Plaza in 1974 (and reconnected it in 2014). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Barelas fostered a mean reputation as a crime-ridden barrio. Now with the National Hispanic Cultural Center well established and renovations of the Rail Yards moving full steam ahead, Barelas is making a phenomenal comeback.
Start at 2nd St. and Silver Ave. At the time of this writing (2014) plans for the northwest corner are underway for the construction of the Imperial Building, a mixed-use development with a 12,000-square-foot grocery store, which has downtown residents giddy with anticipation.
Walk south one block to find Zachary Castle. In 1976 Gertrude Zachary opened a jewelry manufacturing operation on 2nd St. and soon came to be regarded as one of Albuquerque’s most dynamic, if somewhat eccentric, business leaders. In 2006 construction began on her dream house, a Paris-inspired estate abutting an overpass just off Skid Row. The estimated cost: $2–$4 million. Zachary shared her estate with a Shih Tzu named Zipper until her death in 2013. The private compound includes a pool, a courtyard garden, and an 8,500-square-foot main house with four turrets, each rising 50 feet. A separate tower stands directly in front of a billboard that advertises her wares. Gertrude Zachary’s Castle Antiques, a quirky 12,000-foot showroom of American and European antiques, is directly south of the compound.
Turn right on Lead Ave. and walk one block west. Reverend Nathaniel Gale, Albuquerque’s
