<p>The Rosenwald Building is a historic building in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. Designed by Henry Trost of the El Paso firm of Trost &amp; Trost and built in 1910, it was the first reinforced concrete building in the city. It is a massive three-story building with a two-story recessed entrance and simple geometric ornamentation. The building was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.</p><p>Originally the entire 42,000-square-foot building was occupied by Aron and Edward Rosenwald's flagship department store, which was praised by the Albuquerque Journal as "the handsomest, most up-to-date, and most complete department store in the southwest" upon opening. McLellan Stores moved into the ground floor in 1927, remaining there for about 50 years. The Rosenwald Building was renovated in 1981 and the upper floors were converted to office space. The city of Albuquerque bought two floors of the building in 2008.</p>

Rosenwald Building circa 1915. Courtesy of the Albuquerque Museum

Original Rosenwald store in Albuquerque, circa 1900. Courtesy of the Albuquerque Museum 

Henry C. Trost Historical Organization- Rosenwald Retail Building

More Info

Albuquerque Historical Society- The Development of Downtown Albuquerque As Seen Through Its Built Environment

Constructed in 1910, this was Albuquerque's first reinforced concrete building, and was designed by Henry C. Trost. It served as the flagship for the Rosenwald's department stores. In 1927, the McLellan company opened a store in the building's bottom floor and stayed in operation for 50 years. Renovated in 1981, the building house some offices before being completely owned by the city of Albuquerque. Upon opening, it was considered one on of the best department store buildings in the American Southwest. 

Old Rosenwald Building

This short walking tour takes users to a number of landmarks, museums, and historic buildings along Albuquerque's Central Avenue.  

<div>The Skinner Building is a historic building in Albuquerque, New Mexico, considered to be one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in the city. Originally a grocery store owned by J.A. Skinner, it was designed by local architect A.W. Boehning and built in 1931. The building is of brick construction, with a street facade of white terra cotta tile on the north and west sides. Its exterior features a variety of decorative details including fluted towers, grill work, stained glass, and geometric patterns. The Skinner Building was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.</div><div><br></div><div>A controversial balcony was added to the building in 2001 after being narrowly approved by the city Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission, with one commissioner resigning in protest over the decision. As required by the city, the balcony is freestanding and does not actually touch the building.<br><br>Additional information provided by the City of Albuquerque:<br><br><div>"This fanciful building began life as a grocery store! In 1931 A.J. Skinner asked local architect A.W. Boehning to design what was to become the flagship store of his local chain of food stores. The result was this gleaming "jewel box" structure.</div><div><br>The Skinner Building is most notable for its Art Deco style ornamentation. A close look reveals a wealth of small details. The terra-cotta tile, which covers the underlying brick, has been molded into a variety of geometric designs: swags, zigzags, leaf shapes, chevrons, and fluting. Unlike most Art Deco buildings, which are so tall that the decorative elements are hard to see, the Skinner Building offers a close look at its decoration. Albuquerque has few examples of Art Deco, so the Skinner Building is treasured for its rarity and the craftsmanship and imagination evident in its design and construction. Unlike Skinner 2the KiMo's incorporation of southwestern detailing, the Skinner building opted for a more conventional art deco style. In addition, the building is of brick construction and there is a tin ceiling inside much more typical of East Coast and Midwest buildings of the time.<br><br>A grocery store operated in the entire building for ten years and then it was leased to various firms, including the Pepsi Cola Company, which used it as their local headquarters. The Skinner family sold the property in 1970and in 1977 the City purchased it as part of a downtown revitalization project. The City later sold the building Skinner 3to the present owner with stipulations that the street façades and overall Art Deco detailing be preserved.<br><br>Since then, the owner has constructed a second floor balcony that wraps around the street façade. It is of steel and glass construction with many different colored lights illuminating the street and architecture. It is not attached to the building itself, but stands one inch from the building."<br><br><br></div></div>

The Skinner Building, built in 1931, has been considered the city's best example of Art Deco Style architecture. It was owned by the J.A. Skinner family as a grocery store for ten years. Since then it has been used as home to various firms and local headquarters for Pepsi Cola Co. Owned by the city of Albuquerque since the 1970s, the building was sold to a private owner, who had a second story balcony added that has caused a lot of controversy; even leading to a city councilman to resign in protest. 

Skinner Building 

<p>Holocaust survivor, Werner Gellert (1926-2019), along with his wife Frances "Frankie" Gellert, founded the museum in 2001. The museum is dedicated not only to educating the public about past atrocities, but also providing programs intended to prevent future human rights violations. One such program is the Courage to Confront Discussion Group. This program provides people with a space to discuss how to confront peers when witnessing them committing acts of bullying, racism, etc. These meetings occur on the third Sunday of every month from 2:00-4:00 p.m. in the museum. For those unable to visit the museum, the website contains an extensive study guide going over the history of genocide. The study guide includes information about the Holocaust, the struggle of African Americans in the United States from the time of slavery through the Civil Rights movement, the experience of Native Americans in the United States, and the Rwandan genocide. The study guide also explores the loaded terms “hate” and “intolerance” and offers the reader ten suggested ways to fight hate. The website also includes a research library database that include approximately 4,000 items.</p><p>Their extensive collection of exhibits includes art of the Holocaust, The Nuremberg Trials, a replica of a concentration camp gate, and much more. Interestingly, the Nuremberg Trials have a direct connection to Albuquerque through resident Larry Rhee, who was an official photographer and translator for the United States during the trials. This exhibit is stocked with memorabilia donated by Rhee and includes photographs, news reports, and final statements by Germans who were convicted at the trials. There is also an exhibit dedicated to the less-known Armenian genocide. Turkey is still reluctant to call what is often referred to as the Armenian Massacre genocide. Significantly, Hitler said, “The world said nothing when the Turks killed the Armenians, so the world will say nothing when we kill the Jews.” Even though 60% of the museum is in relation to the Holocaust, there are other exhibits relating to other examples of genocides and historical discrimination, such as the Rwanda genocide, the slavery of African-Americans, the Chinese Exclusion Act, etc. In addition to the physical exhibits at the museum, virtual exhibits can be found on the museum's website.</p><p>Besides attending the museum and participating at the museum's outreach programs, visitors also have access to the museum's mini-theater where they can watch plays, lectures, and films regarding racism and (in)tolerance. Also, there is the Silvian Library &amp; Study Center where people can have access to over 5,000 books, video tapes, and other materials that cover the museum's exhibits and its mission statement. Visitors can further support the museum and its exhibits and facilities by donating money, educational materials relating to the exhibits, and/or memorabilia for the exhibits. People can also volunteer at the museum by welcoming visitors, answering phones, working in small teams to catalog items, make small repairs throughout the museum, and clean. </p>

Opened in 2001 by Holocaust survivor, Werner Gellert, the Holocaust and Intolerance Museum of New Mexico showcases exhibits, regarding  about genocide and historic discrimination of people around the world. Exhibits include the Holocaust, Native American cultural genocide, the Armenian and Greek genocides, Slavery in America, and the Rwanda genocide. These exhibits illustrate historical conflicts caused by local, national, and global prejudice through artifacts, memorabilia, pictures, documents, videos, and books. In addition, there is a mini-theater where visitors can watch lectures, panel discussions, film screenings, plays, visual art exhibits, and dance performances. Visitors can also go the Silvian Library & Study Center where they can read books that cover the museum’s exhibits. The main purpose of the museum is to educate people about these historical atrocities and advocate against racism and violence. To achieve these goals, the museum has several outreach programs to teach people how to encourage empathy for others.

Holocaust & Intolerance Museum of New Mexico

<p>The KiMo Theater is one of only a&nbsp;handful&nbsp;of theaters and downtown buildings that still stand and&nbsp;exhibit deep influence by Native American art and&nbsp;architecture.&nbsp;Among the designs in the interior can be found several&nbsp;swastika designs that are woven into the rest of the artwork Long before this design was used by the German government, the swastika was&nbsp;a Navajo symbol that represented&nbsp;freedom and happiness.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Carl Boller designed the theatre based on extensive research of Native American design and culture. He travelled through New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, visiting the Pueblos of Acoma and Isleta. Boller carefully chose Native American symbolism to use in the theatre. In addition to using traditional Navajo symbols, such as the swastika, Boller employed the Navajo’s symbolic use of color, with yellow representing the life-giving power of the sun, white representing the dawn, red the setting sun, and Black the dark clouds from the north.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Many famous actors and actresses of the day performed at KiMo, including Vivian Vance, of <i>I Love Lucy</i> fame, Sally Rand, Gloria Swanson, Tom Mix, and Ginger Rogers. The centerpiece of the theatre are the nine wall murals by Carl Von Hassler that depict the mythical Seven Cities of Gold that conquistadors, including Francisco Coronado, searched for in New Mexico during the sixteenth century.</p>

Perhaps the city of Albuquerque's most famous downtown building, the KiMo Theatre was built in 1927. The name "KiMo" was selected from many suggestions and can mean either Mountain Lion or leader in the Tiwa language, which is still spoken by the Pueblo people of New Mexico. The building design combines stucco with modern art deco styles, a blending that was meant to symbolize the ideal future of New Mexico as a blending of old and new. This short-lived architectural style is known as “Pueblo Deco.” A large fire in the early 1960s nearly destroyed the stage while urban sprawl eroded the nightlife in the city's core-- a common trend in urban history throughout the United States. The theater fell into disrepair in the 1970s and was nearly demolished until community activists raised awareness of the building's historic significance and beauty. Several renovations have made the theater the center of Albuquerque's downtown once again.

KiMo Theatre and Art Gallery

<div>The Occidental Life Building was built in 1917 as the new headquarters of the Occidental Life Insurance Company, which had been organized in 1906 by a group of prominent local businessmen. The building was designed by Henry C. Trost, the chief architect of the El Paso firm of Trost &amp; Trost. Trost was a prolific designer whose other built works in Albuquerque include the Rosenwald Building, First National Bank Building, and Sunshine Building. The building's unusual Venetian Gothic design was reportedly suggested by Occidental Life vice president George Roslington, a native of England.</div><div><br></div><div>The building opened to the public with an evening ceremony on August 1, 1917, which was attended by an estimated 1,000 people. In recognition of the American entry into World War I that year, the program included performances of Rule, Britannia!, The Maple Leaf Forever, and La Marseillaise. The building's early tenants included a number of other insurance agencies in addition to Occidental Life, as well as savings and loan companies, realtors, and an engineering firm.</div><div><br></div><div>A fire broke out in the Occidental Life Building early on the morning of April 25, 1933, causing an estimated $100,000 in damage before firefighters managed to extinguish it around noon that day. The building was mostly gutted, though the exterior walls remained intact up to the roofline. The Albuquerque Journal reported that the fire was thought to have started "between the ceiling and the roof in the northeast corner of the building". The fire occurred just hours after the burning of another Albuquerque landmark, the Fourth Ward School (replaced the following year by Lew Wallace Elementary), leading police and local residents to suspect arson.</div><div><br></div><div>Following the fire, the building was rebuilt to the design of W. Miles Brittelle of the Albuquerque firm of Brittelle and Ginner, reopening in the spring of 1934. In keeping with the building's Venetian influence, Brittelle decided to redesign the roofline to more closely resemble the Doge's Palace, with an ornamental frieze and finials in place of the original overhanging cornice. The interior office space was also expanded by eliminating the original open arcade behind the facade, and the building structure was upgraded from frame to steel construction. In 1981 the interior was remodeled again to add a second story within the original facade.<br><p>The Occidental Life Building features a&nbsp;Venetian Gothic Revival&nbsp;architectural style which is highly unusual for New Mexico,&nbsp;and has been described by the Albuquerque Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission as "unique in the country." The Baum Building in Oklahoma City, built in 1909, employed similar architectural features but was demolished in the early 1970s.</p><p>The building's most significant feature&nbsp;is the white&nbsp;terra cotta&nbsp;facade, which wraps around the south and east sides of the building. The facade was modeled after that of the Doge's Palace in Venice, with arcades of pointed Venetian Gothic arches,&nbsp;quatrefoil&nbsp;windows, and, following the 1934 rebuilding, an ornamental frieze with a row of finials. The&nbsp;spandrels&nbsp;and&nbsp;capitals&nbsp;are decorated with elaborate floral ornamentation, and the building's rounded corners are punctuated with pointed turrets.&nbsp;The tile used in both the original and rebuilt portions of the exterior was manufactured by the Denver Terra-Cotta Tile Company.</p></div>

Constructed in 1917, this building has served as the headquarters of the Occidental Life Insurance Company for the past century. The building suffered severe damage following a fire in 1933. The building was not completely renovated and reopened until 1939, when all of the damage was repaired. The building has been renovated several times since that fire and in 1981, a second story was added. The building is a landmark in Albuquerque where it is known for its unique terra cotta facade and a Venetian Gothic Revival architectural style.

Occidental Life Building, Albuquerque

<div>Opened in 1939, it was Conrad Hilton's fourth hotel and the first modern highrise hotel in the state. Architect Anton F. Korn designed the ten-story building in the New Mexico Territorial style, with earthtone stucco, brick coping along the roofline, and southwest-style woodwork and furnishings. The hotel was renovated in 1984 and reopened as La Posada. The old Hilton Hotel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.</div><div><br></div><div>In March 2008, it was renamed "Hotel Andaluz" and reopened in 2009. The new property features Más restaurant, the rooftop bar Ibiza and 6,000 square feet of conference facilities.<br><br>Timeline of history provided from Hotel Andaluz's official website:<br><p>June 9, 1939&nbsp;Property opened As Hilton Hotel<br>- First hotel in New Mexico constructed by New Mexico native Conrad Hilton<br>- Cost $700,000 to build<br>- Built by the Greer Family’s construction firm<br>- Designed by architect Antom F. Korn<br>- Originally built with 176 rooms, it was the tallest building in New Mexico at the time it opened<br>- First building in New Mexico with air conditioning</p><p>1969&nbsp;Property Sold by Hilton, renamed Hotel Plaza</p><p>1981&nbsp;Property sold again, named Hotel Bradford but never opened</p><p>1983&nbsp;Property sold again to Southwest Resorts. A major renovation reduced the property to 114 rooms with four suites</p><p>1984&nbsp;Re-opened as La Posada de Albuquerque</p><p>1984&nbsp;Placed on National Register of Historic Places</p><p>2005&nbsp;Property purchased by Albuquerque businessman Gary Goodman for $4 million</p><p>2008&nbsp;Renamed Hotel Andaluz</p><p>2008&nbsp;Ibiza is chosen for the new roof top lounge</p><p>2009&nbsp;Grand Reopening of Hotel Andaluz</p><br><br><br></div>

Now known as the historic Hotel Andaluz and as one of the best boutique hotels in the nations, this structure was originally Hotel Hilton when it was completed in 1939. From there to 1969, it was a famed Hilton hotel in the southwest before it was sold and became the La Posada de Albuquerque. It would become Hotel Andaluz in 2008. "Andaluz" is short for "Andalucian," an historic and picturesque area of Spain. Andalucia would influence the architecture of the building. The hotel was New Mexico's first building with built in air conditioning. 

Hotel Andaluz

<div>The Sunshine Building is a historic structure in downtown Albuquerque, in the U.S. state of New Mexico, at the intersection of Central Avenue and Second Street. The six-story building was designed by the El Paso firm of Trost &amp; Trost and built in 1924, originally housing offices and a 920-seat movie theater. It is of reinforced concrete construction, with a facade of yellow brick. F. D. Fogg and Company, Jewelers, operated a fine jewelry store in the building from 1948 until the 1970s. The store's classic neon sign and pink marble facade were recognized downtown Albuquerque landmarks throughout that period</div><div><br></div><div>The Sunshine Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and has been designated as a Historic Landmark by the city. The TV Show, <i>In Plain Sight</i> filmed the exterior of this location, as the fictional office of the US Marshal's Witness Protection Service.<br><br>The Sunshine Theater, which occupies a significant portion of the building, was Albuquerque's first movie palace. The first film shown there was <i>Scaramouche</i>, starring Ramón Novarro and accompanied by a special orchestra for the occasion. The theater stopped showing first-run movies in 1974 and closed completely in the 1980s, but has since been remodeled into a popular live music venue. The Sunshine Theater has hosted a number of notable acts such as The Strokes, Snoop Dogg, Deltron 3030, Stone Temple Pilots, The Smashing Pumpkins, Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Modest Mouse, Rancid, Coheed and Cambria, Awolnation, Cannibal Corpse, Ratatat, Social Distortion, Pennywise, Hollywood Undead, Deftones, Nightwish, Melanie Martinez, Damien Marley and Deadmau5 among others. The Sunshine Theater's set up is an open floor, a large balcony, and a bar that seats a 21 and older audience, in all they accommodate about 1,000 people. The theater is the most popular venue in the Albuquerque metro area to accommodate smaller but still notable acts, many with five or more shows in one month.<br><br></div>

The Sunshine Building is one of Albuquerque's most recognizable and active entertainment spots. This six-story building was done by the famed Henry C. Trost in 1924. Until the 1970s it held offices, jewlwery stores, and a theater palace (920 seats); the theater palace being Albuquerque's first. By 1980, the offices and jewelry store closed down and the theater was converted into a venue for concerts. The first film played in the Sunshine was "Scaramouche" in 1923. Now the building houses some offices and used for concerts. It's famed neon sign which attracted tourists was unfortunately taken down and moved elsewhere. In television, the exterior of the building was used to designate the site of a fictional US Marshals Witness Protection service building for the show, "In Plain Sight." 

Sunshine Building/Sunshine Theater

<p>Up until 1904, trolleys in Albuquerque, New Mexico, were pulled by horses. In 1904, however, an electric streetcar system was created, and two companies were established. One company served downtown Albuquerque and the Old Town Plaza areas, and another served the Huning Highlands-University area. In only four years, six miles of tracks connected different places in Albuquerque. A motorman and a conductor ran 10 green double-ended streetcars.</p><p><br /></p><p>While convenient for residents of Albuquerque, the electric streetcar system also meant that suburbs were beginning to grow. Albuquerque had a morning rush hour like many other cities, with businessmen and workers, but these workers no longer had to live within walking distance of their places of employment. The streetcar system meant that people could move to the suburbs and commute into the city for work every day.</p><p><br /></p><p>By 1929, technological advancement again changed transportation in Albuquerque. Automobiles became popular in the 1920s, and buses that were powered by gas replaced streetcars at the end of the decade.</p>

Established in 1904, the Albuquerque Electric Streetcar System quickly supplanted the network of companies that offered horse-drawn trolleys. This historical marker located near the fountain at the Alvarado Transportation Center shares the story of the creation of the electric streetcar system and its relation to housing patterns and urban sprawl as Albuquerque was becoming a suburban city. The trolley system and later streetcar network were significant to the expansion of the city and development of residential suburbs because workers no longer had to live within walking distance of their workplaces. Even though the streetcar system was a major advancement in Albuquerque, gas-powered buses replaced the streetcars starting slowly at the end of the 1920s. Although gasoline-powered buses did not replace the streetcars as quickly as the cars had replaced horse-drawn trolleys, the end of World War II saw an end to gasoline rationing and the rapid expansion of buses as the primary mode of intercity and intracity public transportation.   

Albuquerque Electric Streetcar System Historical Marker

<div>Old Main was built in 1914, replacing Albuquerque High's previous location in the Central School building downtown. At the time Albuquerque had only 12,000 residents, and critics complained that the new building was too large and would never reach its capacity of 500 students. This proved not to be the case as a second building was required just 13 years later, and the campus had grown to five buildings by 1940. Albuquerque High remained the only high school in the city until Highland High School opened in 1949.</div><div><br></div><div>In 1974, Albuquerque High School moved to a new location about one mile to the north, leaving the old campus vacant. Albuquerque Public Schools eventually sold the buildings, and they were left to deteriorate over the next 25 years as various plans to reuse them fell through and the surrounding neighborhood became increasingly blighted.<br><br><div>Efforts to renovate the former high school intensified in 1989 when the Albuquerque City Council authorized funds to purchase the property. In 1996, after years of legal wrangling, the city succeeded in acquiring four of the five campus buildings for $1.5 million. The city eventually settled on a plan to convert the buildings into loft apartments in a joint venture with a private developer, and work began in 2001. The Classroom Building and Old Main were the first to be renovated, followed by the Gymnasium, Library, and finally the separately-owned Manual Arts Building. The renovation preserved many interior details such as doors, handrails, and even Blackboards. The gymnasium and library reading room are protected spaces and have also been preserved.</div><div><br></div><div>The success of the project spurred further revitalization efforts in the surrounding area, leading the city to draft an East Downtown master plan in 2005 to guide future development.<br><br><div>The Old Albuquerque High campus comprised of&nbsp;five buildings grouped around a central courtyard. All of the buildings were designed in the Gothic Revival style typical of early 20th-century school architecture.</div><div><br></div><div>Old Main is the original building, constructed in 1914. It is located on the southeast corner of the campus, facing Central Avenue. The three-story building was designed by Henry C. Trost and originally housed classrooms, a gymnasium, a library, an auditorium, and a science laboratory.</div><div><br></div><div>The Manual Arts Building was built in 1927 on the east side of campus, facing Arno Street. It has three stories and 27,000 square feet of floor area, and originally housed a woodshop and machine shop in addition to classrooms. It was designed by local architect George Williamson.</div><div><br></div><div>The Classroom Building (1937), Gymnasium (1938), and Library (1940) were all designed by Louis Hesselden and built with New Deal funding and Works Progress Administration labor. The Gymnasium, which sits at the north end of the campus, is the largest building with 68,000 square feet of floor area. The Classroom Building and the Library face Broadway on the west side of campus.<br><br><b>Additional information from Albuquerque High School's website:</b><br><p>"(This history was taken from the 1974 Albuquerque High Yearbook. Thank you yearbook staffers!!) Editor's note: The La Reata Staff wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the people who made this section of the book possible. Thank you to Dr. Eldred Harrington and his work, Some Observations of the History of Albuquerque High. The early history on the first two pages was drawn exclusively from his history. Thank you to Coach Jim Hulsman who contributed his statistical sports history of Albuquerque High. The sports history was drawn exclusively from his records. And, of course, thank you to all the yearbook sponsors and La Reata staff members who have recorded Albuquerque High's history since the publication of the first La Reata in 1909.</p><p>The once crowded hallways are empty now. The sounds of voices shouting to each other and the clanging of locker doors are gone. The spine-tingling screech of the chalk on the Blackboards and the soft pad and swoosh of the erasers is no longer heard. Ghosts of voices and people now take possession of the buildings that stand in the middle of town while outside, the commercial hauler, buses, zippy 240 Z's and rebuilt '56 Chevys pound rivulets into the asphalt that is Broadway. Shiny Cadillacs, newly polished Super Sports and dust covered Volkswagons careen to and fro on Central in the activity and pursuit of life in the growing metropolis of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Silently watching all, stand the red brick buildings in which most of the graduates of the city have received their high school educations. A segment of the city's life has been erased. A new school has been built, but it cannot replace the tradition, the love, the meaning of the Old Albuquerque High School. The first of the five brick buildings, which encircle a patio, was built in 1914, but that is not the beginning of AHS. The history of AHS is inseparable from the development of the city of Albuquerque, which was settled shortly after 1700 and was named after the Viceroy of New Spain, Albuquerque. It remained a small village until approximately 1880 when the Atlantic and Pacific railroad, en route to the west coast, reached a point two miles east of the village of Albuquerque. A small community developed around the rail-head included a depot which was built on the site of the old Alvarado. A horse car line from the "new" Albuquerque to old Albuquerque was started to provide transportation between the growing communities.</p><p>As the new Albuquerque flourished, the railroad assigned to Colonel Marmon to lay out some city streets. He laid one street parallel to the horse car line which he called Central, and the first road west of the tracks and running parallel he named First. Although the railroad did not request any roads east of the tracks, this is where Marmon plotted his widest street.</p><p>He named that street Broadway and proceeded to develop four streets east of it. He named the first street Arno, after Arno Huning who was a pioneer businessman in Albuquerque. The next two streets he named after his own children, Edith and Walter, and his last street was named High.</p><p>Running parallel to Central was an arroyo which ran into an area now called Hopewell Field where AHS football was practiced, and girls' and boys' PE classes carried on outside activities.</p><p>By 1881 the population of Albuquerque was 1000. It is said that Billy the Kid once made a trip to Albuquerque because of a tale that he'd heard, supposedly told by a local hardware store owner. This owner had made claims about what he would do should Billy the Kid ever have the misfortune to step into his hardware store. Billy strutted into to hardware store and walked out with a plow while the store owner hid under a wagon somewhere near the site of the present YMCA. Albuquerque was not an exciting town, however; and Billy moved on to the larger communities of White Oaks, Lincoln, and Ft. Summer, New Mexico.</p><p>In the United States at that time, there were few high schools, primarily because it was difficult to obtain funds. The result was that academics would develop. Few cities had the power by law to levy taxes and Albuquerque didn't obtain this power until 1891. Meanwhile the Colorado College of Colorado Springs started the Albuquerque Academy in 1879 on the east side of the old plaza. Thus were the beginnings of what was to become Albuquerque High. Twenty seven students enrolled. In 1881; the academy moved to the new town into an adobe building on Lead between Third and Fourth. In 1882, it moved again, this time to Silver between Fifth and Sixth. The Academy was run by a seventeen member board of trustees composed of business and professional men whose chief purpose seemed to be to give the town as good a school as possible. Dr. Eldred Harrington, AHS class of 1920, stated in Some Observations on the History of Albuquerque High School "The Academy was a tuition school, but the tuition never supported it adequately and the difference had o be made up from the pockets of the trustees, from friends, or from the resource of the New West Association which supported the Colorado College. The Academy had a primary, intermediate, and a college preparatory department. The college preparatory division charged a tuition of $3.00 per month for the ordinary course and an additional one dollar per month if the student took the special French and German course. If the student wished, he could take twenty four music lessons during the year for an additional fee of $18.00. (We must remember that $1.00 per day was a good wage in 1880.) In 1886 the Academy's curriculum listed such subjects as English, History, Algebra, Geometry, Bookkeeping, Physiology, Rhetoric, Botany, Physics, Political Science, Civil Government, American and English literature, French, German, Latin, and Greek. School activities were chiefly provided by sedate music recitals and equally sedate debating contests. Boys were encouraged in playground sports such as baseball, but there were no competitive teams. In 1886, Professor C.E. Hodgin was the Academy principal, and he was destined to play a large part in State education for the next forty years.</p><p>In 1890 the academy moved into a new building at Central and Edith where the public library is now located, and it operated there until 1891 when the city received the power to levy taxes for school funds. The whole operation was then taken over by the city, and Professor Hodgen was appointed the new city superintendent of schools. While the Academy had been privately owned, it had been operated by local authorities and largely supported locally for the interests of the community.</p><p>By 1891 the population of Albuquerque had grown to 4000. The town had twenty saloons and two banks, one which went broke during the panic of 1893. The University of New Mexico was started, and the high school and the U. had developed a good relationship of cooperation.</p><p>The new Albuquerque High was housed on the third floor of the old city library building, and in 1892 the first graduating class consisted of three members: Mabel Daniels, Lu Hughes, and Mildred Whiteman. Enrollment was thirty members.</p><p>In 1893 the school was moved to a frame building in the 200 block of South Edith where it remained for six or seven years. In the fall of 1900 it was moved to the central school building at Third and Lead where it was located until 1914. This building later became an office for the superintendent of schools.</p><p>By 1895 Albuquerque had acquired twenty three saloons and had almost as many gambling establishments. People were moving to Albuquerque for reasons of health, and the city was taking on many aspects of larger eastern cities. Even after the 1900s there were still occasional stage holdups and by 1903 there had been two cases of school money embezzling by the city's officials.</p><p>One hundred dollars was spent to advertise the Albuquerque schools at the World's Fair in 1893, and in 1908 the city's educational exhibits won first prize in the International Industrial Exposition.</p><p>In 1914 Old Main was built. Along the north side of the building about where Copper Street is, ran an arroyo. On the North side of the arroyo was Pence Wagon Yard which was used to house the mules and otherwise provide for their needs. The south side of the arroyo is where the gym steps are now and where old Main was built; the school was heavily criticized for building a facility which was too large. One thing was sure - the school building was definitely going to satisfy the educational needs of the town for all time. Just east of Pence Wagon Yard were some weather beaten houses (current location of the gym) and it was rumored that a treasure was buried there. Over the years this area has been the scene of intensive search efforts in man's never ending quest for quick wealth. The arroyo which ran along the north side was quite deep and it often was the ground used for settling disputes. In 1915, it was the meeting place of two rival gangs, the Capulets and the Montagues; and in 1917 the rival gangs who used the area were the Hatfields and the McCoys. In this same area Dr. Harrington along with some of his friends caught a fawn and gave it to a resident of the town for a pet.</p><p>In 1914 the population of the town was 10,000 and grades nine through twelve were being educated in the building on Central Avenue. The library was located on the third floor, where, in recent years, the Art Department has conducted classes.</p><p>By 1917 the county population had increased by 2000, and paving was becoming a sign of the times. Central Avenue was paved from Eighth to approximately where the Presbyterian Hospital is currently located and Fourth Street was paved from Mountain to Coal. However, the majority of the streets remained unpaved and only five years prior to the paving, the speeding vehicle of the mayor was caught by a policeman on a bicycle. John Milne shot a deer somewhere near the Veteran's Hospital. The site of the Albuquerque Country Club was a duck pond and West San Jose was a cat-tail swamp.</p><p>The primary method of commuting around the town was street cars which originally were run by male motormen. With the advent of World War I, the city saw these male operators replaced by women who held the positions until more modern busses came into use.</p><p>John Milne became superintendent quite early in his career in Albuquerque. Appointed in 1911, he remained in that post well over forty years.</p><p>The first edition of the La Reata was printed in 1909, by a local establishment and was financed largely by advertising. In 1917 the school began instruction in printing, and in 1918, the first La Reata was printed by the instructors and students of AHS. It was printed by the school until 1959. The first newspaper produced by Albuquerque High came out in 1902 an was published until1907. The title of this early newspaper was The Occident and no copies of this remain. During the school year 1919-20 Miss Oliver Morris started The Record, which to this day remains as the official and only school newspaper. The first issue was published on September 28, 1919.</p><p>The armistice was signed in 1918 for the "war which was to end all wars," and everyone was dealing with the post war activities which were universal. The manual arts classes during the year 1918-19 constructed four dozen tables for the Red Cross to be used for wounded soldiers.</p><p>Despite the tragedy of the war, the populace was still trying to put sunshine in its life and the era of jazz was already afoot. AHS was a part of this movement. It had its own version of a jazz band called the Ukelele Orchestra.</p><p>While audiences throughout the country were going to movie houses to watch Theda Bara, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and Douglas Fairbanks, students at AHS were producing their own versions of Mikado (operetta), The Amazons (senior play given for the benefit of La Reata) and a Spanish play titled Dona Clarines.</p><p>The class of 1920 contained students which represented thirty-six states and ten countries, in recognition of the apparent cosmopolitan nature of Albuquerque as reflected by the Student Body. King Albert of Belgium visited this humble city. The Roosevelt and Webster debating societies were organized in 1919 and most people in the school belonged to one or the other. Sponsoring the Roosevelt Society was Barbara Phillips and sponsoring the Webster society was Mary Dole Dixon. Both of these societies continued until 1940. The Girls' League worked to raise money for the French and Belgium War Orphan "drives." The boys' equivalent organization was the Bugle and Drum Corps, which was organized to boost all the "drives" for the welfare of American soldiers and citizens. Leads in the Spanish play, Zaragueta, went to Eldred Harrington and Lyle Gains. Edwin Harrington was president of the Athletic Association and senior class president was Dale Snyder. The apparently unsuperstitious class held a very successful Vaudvillian show on Friday, February 13.</p><p>The feeling that American English is in abominable shape has been around for a very long time. In 1920, because of the "Nationwide cry for better English," the English teachers at Albuquerque High instituted Good English Week."</p><br></div><br></div><br></div>

This was the third building that housed Albuquerque's high school students starting in the early 20th century until the 1970s. As Albuquerque grew, more and more students were enrolled into the education system, thus newer, bigger buildings were needed. Constructed between 1914-1917, this building was the largest in size and lasted the longest as a school. Until 1949, it was the city's only school when another was completed. In 1979, a new building was completed to house Albuquerque High students. From 1979 to 2001 the school building was largely empty. Now it has been renovated for lofts, which have helped usher recent economic growth to this area of the city. 

Downtown Albuquerque Walking Tour- Central Ave

Old Rosenwald Building

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information