Nob Hill Walking Tour

Nob Hill is one of Albuquerque’s favorite neighborhood shopping and restaurant districts. Venture beyond the vibrant, ever-changing commercial corridor of small local businesses along Central Avenue to see its relationship with the surrounding residential neighborhoods. This walk meanders both north and south of Central, exploring a diverse and architecturally distinctive mixed-use community. Distant vistas, historic buildings, gardens, garden art and architectural treasures are abundant. Gardens are evolving from the original front lawn with one or several large shade trees to an eclectic mix, ranging all the way from “zeroscapes”, and weeds and cars as “lawn ornaments”, to very interesting explorations of regional, water conservative landscape styles.

Missing, broken or obstructed sidewalks, steep side slopes on driveways, lack of curb ramps, and some difficult street crossings make this walk challenging. Narrow sidewalks adjacent to fast-moving traffic, as on Carlisle and Lead, require caution. The many windows and front porches facing the street and the large number of walkers in this interesting area contribute to a feeling of safety and community. Intermittent shade is available.

1.3 MILE LOOP
1. 3500 Central SE, Nob Hill Shopping Center.
Noted architect Louis Hesselden’s shopping center
design is a mixture of Territorial Revival and Moderne
design elements. This National Register property is
one of the best remaining examples of a 1940’s automobile-
oriented shopping center in America. Several
of the original neon store signs and the deco-inspired
towers are still intact. North of the intersection are
two former 1940’s-era gas stations. Visible east along
Central are the tall neon signs of the Aztec and Nob
Hill Motels, Route 66 motels, also listed in the
National Register.

2. 114 Carlisle SE, Immanuel Presbyterian Church.
Designed by John Gaw Meem beginning in 1949, in the
Territorial Revival style.
Enjoy the vista from the summit of Nob Hill at Lead
and Carlisle. To the north are the Jemez Mountains,
some 45 miles away, and to the east, the Sandia
Mountains.

3. 319 Carlisle SE.
The rounded, kiva-like shape at the core of the house
was constructed in 1916 as the water tank for the
University Heights subdivision, located downhill to the
west. After the city annexed the area in 1925, the city
water system replaced it, and the tank was adapted as
part of a new home during the 1930s.

4. 324 Amherst SE.
The pergola, landscaping and solar walls create a protective
screen from the traffic.

5. 316 Tulane SE.
Pueblo Revival became popular in the 1930s. This
“high style” residence was well suited to the president
of a utility company, Edward Bridgman.
Watch the traffic while crossing Lead!

6. 212 Tulane.
This log cabin was built by Col. DKB Sellers, the
developer of the subdivision and builder of the gravity-
based water tank on Nob Hill.

7. 202 and 204 Tulane.
These houses have similar plans, but contrasting decorative
elements show the difference between the Spanish-Pueblo and Territorial Revival styles. Along
this stretch of Silver, offices and houses that have
been adapted to offices mix with residences using
similar scale and massing.

8. 200-208 Wellesley SE, the Bachechi Compound.
This Spanish-Pueblo Revival style compound is hidden
behind a wall on Wellesley, but is partially visible from
the alley between Tulane and Wellesley. It’s composed
of a main house, with a pool and pool house, a gardeners’
shed and three other residential units. A barn
behind the pool house was occupied in the late
twenties by Carl VanHossler, an artist that the
Bachechi family brought from Germany to paint the
Kimo Theater. The Bachechi family owned the Kimo
Theater in downtown Albuquerque until 1968 when it
was sold to the City of Albuquerque. They occupied
this compound between 1934 and 1959.

9. 3226 Central SE, Kelly’s Brewpub, the former
Jones Motor Company.
Built in 1939 and listed in the National Register, this
building is a rare example of the Streamline Moderne
style along Rt. 66 in New Mexico. The vacant property
cater-corner across the street provides a great view
of the Sandias. A mixed use infill project is planned,
with residential above ground floor retail.

10. 3200 Central SE, the Hiway House.
Sun City developer and former New York Yankees
owner, Del Webb built this late 1950’s motel.

11. 3201 Central, NE., Monte Vista Fire Station.
Built in 1936 as a WPA project. Architect Ernst
Blumenthal, who also designed the Old Albuquerque Airport, incorporated a range of Spanish-Pueblo
Revival details even as he met the functional requirements
of a modern fire station.

12. 3100 and 3000 blocks of Central.
The vibrant colors and details of the stores with
diverse businesses lining the street attract pedestrians
and make for a lively street life. The top of Mt. Taylor
may be visible 70 miles to the west.
TURN NORTH (RIGHT) AND CROSS CENTRAL AT THE
TRAFFIC LIGHT AT RICHMOND.

13. The Hyder business block and the Lobo Theater,
at 3025 Central SE, are on your left (west).
When it was developed in 1939, the Lobo Theater was
the first movie house on the East Mesa. It replaced a
gas station called the Iceberg that literally appeared
as a white iceberg complete with a polar bear climbing
across its stucco-coated peaks.
WALK NORTH ALONG RICHMOND. AT THE SECOND
ALLEY JUST BEYOND THE PARKING LOT ON THE EAST
SIDE OF THE STREET, TURN NORTHEAST (RIGHT) AND
FOLLOW THE ALLEY, CROSSING BRYN MAWR DRIVE,
ALL THE WAY TO THE TRIANGLE AT THE INTERSECTION
OF WELLESLEY, CAMPUS AND MONTE VISTA.

14. The alleys throughout Nob Hill historically
provided access to garages located at the back
of properties.
Though often neglected, they serve as quiet walkways
(and shortcuts) that permit a more complete look at
the neighborhood’s character.

15. 3211 Monte Vista, Monte Vista Elementary School.

Looking to your left from the triangle, you can see the
school which was built in 1935 and is listed in the
National Register. The developer of the Monte Vista
Addition dedicated the land for the school, inducing
many families to settle at what was then the eastern
fringe of Albuquerque.
WALK EAST ON CAMPUS.

16. Campus Boulevard.
This broad diagonal street is characteristic of the
Monte Vista Addition and reflects progressive land
use planning in a natural environment criss-crossed
with arroyos. Campus Boulevard was the old drainage
of the Tijeras Arroyo. It was originally lined with
Lombardy poplars and Siberian elms all the way to
Veterans Hospital. Most houses in the addition are
small in scale and have retained their historic character,
though some have been expanded or altered. Can
you guess which house on the south side of the street
was built in the last 20 years? The small apartment
building at the northeast corner of Amherst and
Campus is an example of the occasional duplex or
small apartment mixed into the neighborhood.
AT AMHERST, TURN SOUTH (RIGHT) TOWARD
CENTRAL AVENUE. CROSS CENTRAL AT THE STOPLIGHT
AT CARLISLE TO RETURN TO THE NOB HILL
SHOPPING CENTER.
The two Central Avenue bus routes stop in Nob Hill;
Route #66 stops at multiple locations and the
RapidRide, just east of Carlisle.
Additional tours of this neighborhood, including
two Discovery Tours for children in the Monte Vista
Elementary School area, can be seen at the NHNA
website: www.nobhill-nm.com.