Coping with the Car — Albuquerque's Downtown

People tell me all the time, "Albuquerque is too small." "There's nothing to do here." But in the seven years I've lived here I gotten to know the city quite well. Traveling around as I work or joining the city's active bicycling scene, I've come to see the little things about Albuquerque. I have also seen the city grow and recently the New Orleans Saints (A NFL Football Team) actually mentioned moving the team to Albuquerque if they didn't get a new stadium in New Orleans. Most people laughed about it, but lately I've noticed more and more of those larger city ammenities arriving in the Duke City. Another story involves a study that ranks Albuquerque #1 in coffee shops per capita in the US. Now this was later retracted, (Seattle obviously has that one nailed) but the point is that Albuquerque is considered hip, high-tech, and full of sunshine. Because of this potential of attracting for what I've heard described as Internet Freelancers, I would like to present you with a look at some success and failure in the only truly urban district in New Mexico.

Albuquerque has a downtown core that is changing rapidly and attempting to create a viable center. This includes entertainment as a foundation but is also beginning to provide housing and shopping to that mix. It has kept many links to it's past even while skyline has taken shape filled with modern and post-modern boxes. The lessons learned since the 1950's are informing the future of development and a greater understanding of sustainable growth. The battle is still being waged and people are still not fully aware of what an urban neighborhood can provide.

The point is that Albuquerque is considered hip, high-tech, and full of sunshine.

San Felipe de Niri is where Albuquerque began. This church has been here since 1706 and the building here since 1793. This was the community tie that brought together the sprawling ranchos of "La Villa de Alburquerque." Where most towns in New Spain and New Mexico were built with a defensive role in mind, Albuquerque was simply the place that people gathered on Sundays from the surrounding countryside. This is ironic considering how the modern-day automobile has promoted the same type of settlement. The driving factor is the same. Putting space between you and your negatively perceived neighbors.

Still an active congregation, the church wears its different architectual layers with pride. The victorian cupolas sit atop the original adobe structure. Adjecent to this is the rectory which was built in the 19th century. The church looks good after a recent exterior restoration.

A Tale of Two Plazas

The plaza ajacent to the old church is the center of a tourist area built on the 19th century victorian buildings. Many have been stuccoed and remodeled to give them a southwestern feel. This area is always busy and pedestrian traffic is common, and has for hundreds of years been a center in the city. The density of buildings is part of this but also this was an important crossroads. When people gathered, this was the first place to come to mind. As the railroad aligned itself with the Camino Real (The main north/south road) in the 1880's Old Town lost much of its civic importance. This fortunately led to many of the stuctures surviving to this day.

Old Town continues its sleeply ways as a tourist stop with gift shops and resturants populating its former residences. Nearby several museums maintain this neighborhood as a walkable destination.

In contrast to Old Town, the downtown plaza was designed as a festival space. A product of 1960's Urban Renewal which along with the convention center removed many older buildings. As a public space it fails because of this planned nature. Vagrants are the primary inhabitants, during the weekday and while it is the scene for many city sponsored functions, the nature of its design has an artificial feel. Concealing an underground parking garage, It is surrounded by the convention center, city hall, the main police station, and a luxury hotel. For the most part, the scale of the space discourages most from taking advantage of the open space.

Downtown Fades

Downtown in the 1930's was the center of attention in Albuquerque. The railroad was still the major entrance point for visitors to Albuquerque. Route 66 was a winding road going through Santa Fe before winding down the Rio Grande Valley past Albuquerque. Traveling on this road was arduous at best. Because of this the commercial interests in the city still remained in it's center.

The three tall buildings in the background are still in use. The First National Bank Building, the Sunshine Building, and La Posada Hotel have all survived intact . in the foregound is the Alvarado Hotel which was demolished in 1970. After being a vacent lot for thirty years, that building site has now found a very ironic reuse.

Viewing those same buildings today, one can see the rise of the automobile in civic planning as well as the reality that downtown is much less centralized in its structure. The front door to downtown as you cross the railroad tracks on Central Avenue contains a dirt parking lot. This is not only displeasing to the eye but reveals how the density has dropped as the city's growth has moved outward. Downtown has become for friendly to parking than to walking. Changes need to be made to restore this as a livable urban center.

Continue...