Albuquerque Sites

"Albuquerque is home to scores of WPA buildings and works. Among the most prolific are the following- ... John Gaw Meem designed both Scoles Hall and Zimmerman Library on the campus of the University of New Mexico (the corner of University and Central). Both have undergone redesign and restoration, but still carry many of the architects innovative design features. Also on the campus of UNM, the Anthropology building is from that era, and contains three large murals by Joseph Imhof. The Old Albuquerque Municipal Airport (2920 Yale SE) is a Pueblo revival style two-story building that stands in the shadow of the Albuquerque...

"Albuquerque is home to scores of WPA buildings and works. Among the most prolific are the following- ... John Gaw Meem designed both Scoles Hall and Zimmerman Library on the campus of the University of New Mexico (the corner of University and Central). Both have undergone redesign and restoration, but still carry many of the architects innovative design features. Also on the campus of UNM, the Anthropology building is from that era, and contains three large murals by Joseph Imhof. The Old Albuquerque Municipal Airport (2920 Yale SE) is a Pueblo revival style two-story building that stands in the shadow of the Albuquerque...

These carvings adorn the ceiling of Building No. 1 of the Veterans' Hospital, which was likely also a WPA project. From Public Art and Architecture in New Mexico 1933-1943 by Kathryn Flynn (2012): "Building No. 1 which currently houses the Psychology Department was one of the buildings constructed during the WPA activities and has unusually fine carved animal heads on the corbels which are at the end of the ceiling vigas. The carver or carvers are unknown. WPA handmade furniture is located throughout the building."

"A number of other APS buildings were built, remodeled, or had additions built as the result of this source of this source of funding. Likewise adjacent school playgrounds, ball fields, etc. were also created. The schools include Armijo, Coronado, Duranes, Five Points School, La Mesa, Lincoln, Los Candelarias, Pajarito, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Stronghurst. For specific information on each of these refer to the Albuquerque Museum Monograph written by Charles Biebel." -Treasures on New Mexico Trails

This large elementary school is in the Nob Hill section of Albuquerque, NM, just south of the University of New Mexico and has one of the highest ratings in the city. It was built by the PWA in 1939. The interior includes the typical glazed brick wainscoting in hallways. The exterior style includes modern deco elements mixed with a short visible clay tile roof and dentilwork below the fascia. Brick is the predominant exterior building material. The building is still in use.

"For years, a territorial-style two-story building has stood as an unofficial sentry into the Barelas neighborhood at Fourth Street coming from Downtown. Until 1975, it was an elementary school that had been built by the Public Works Administration as part of the New Deal that eventually was too small for the hordes of neighborhood children. And until recently, it housed Albuquerque Public Schools administrators and records, as transients patrolled the nearby streets searching for local soup kitchens. Come August, the freshly scrubbed and modernized Coronado Elementary at 601 Fourth SW will again house students to accommodate an increased demand for...

"A number of other APS buildings were built, remodeled, or had additions built as the result of this source of this source of funding. Likewise adjacent school playgrounds, ball fields, etc. were also created. The schools include Armijo, Coronado, Duranes, Five Points School, La Mesa, Lincoln, Los Candelarias, Pajarito, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Stronghurst. For specific information on each of these refer to the Albuquerque Museum Monograph written by Charles Biebel." -Treasures on New Mexico Trails

"Justice Tempered with Mercy (Uphold the Right, Prevent the Wrong)" by Emil Bisttram was originally installed in the courthouse at Roswell, NM. It was painted with Treasury Relief Art Project funds in 1936 and moved to its present location in 1983. "Cooperation" and "Strife" are two smaller (3' x 3') murals that flank "Justice Tempered With Mercy" to form a triptych.  

"The Pueblo Rebellion of 1680" was painted by Loren Mozley in 1936 with Federal Art Project funds and restored in 1996.  

"A number of other APS buildings were built, remodeled, or had additions built as the result of this source of this source of funding. Likewise adjacent school playgrounds, ball fields, etc. were also created. The schools include Armijo, Coronado, Duranes, Five Points School, La Mesa, Lincoln, Los Candelarias, Pajarito, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Stronghurst. For specific information on each of these refer to the Albuquerque Museum Monograph written by Charles Biebel." -Treasures on New Mexico Trails

"The Harwood, originally the home of the Harwood Girls School (1925-1976), is housed in a 1925 neo-classical Revival style building just north of downtown Albuquerque on the Mountain Road side of the Sawmill-Wells Park neighborhoods. The original girls school campus consisted of the main Harwood building, a one story classroom building constructed during the WPA, and Hudd Hall built in 1940. Today, Harwood occupies most of the main building with artist studios, galleries, classrooms and offices. Harwood also owns and operates the old church building at the corner of Mountain Road and Sixth Street as an art studio/classroom. Escuela del Sol Montessori...

"Heights Community Center was the first community recreation center in the city and has served generations of Albuquerque residents. It was constructed between 1938 and 1942 as a National Youth Administration Project, one of several New Deal programs active in Albuquerque during the Great Depression. NYA projects were intended to give youth thorough vocational training and revive their interest in education. At the time, it was considered the largest NYA project in the country. Much of the work for the center was carried out by volunteers using donated or salvaged materials. Several different civic groups in the Heights thought up the...

"The work of the CCC influenced virtually every national forest. While the architectural style was consistently rustic, featuring stone and massive timbers, regional variations that reflected cultural context and the availability of building materials did occur. For example, in the Juan Tabo and La Cueva Picnic Area on the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico and in Sabino Canyon on the Coronado National Forest in Arizona, picnic shelters, restrooms, and bridges are made entirely of large granite boulders and native stone. These fit well within the rocky, arid character of the site."   (https://www.fs.fed.us)

"The Old Officer's Club on this base was originally the Sandia Girls School, a private school built by the Simms family. It had art and furniture created specifically for it but most has been lost. Six of the pieces created by Lloyd Moylan were conserved and still hang in the cocktail lounge of the East Officer's Club. They are a series of different Indian dances including Buffalo, Butterfly, Clown, Deer, Eagle and Matachinas. Originally there were at least seven paintings and maybe more, but the missing paintings may have disappeared during a fire. Other unusual craft items also missing are...

"A number of other APS buildings were built, remodeled, or had additions built as the result of this source of this source of funding. Likewise adjacent school playgrounds, ball fields, etc. were also created. The schools include Armijo, Coronado, Duranes, Five Points School, La Mesa, Lincoln, Los Candelarias, Pajarito, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Stronghurst. For specific information on each of these refer to the Albuquerque Museum Monograph written by Charles Biebel." -Treasures on New Mexico Trails

"Built in 1934, it's the first of many New Mexico projects of the Public Works Administration, a federal New Deal program to counteract the Great Depression of 1929-1942. Lew Wallace, a US Army general during the mid-19th century, governed the New Mexico Territory from 1878 to 1881. He's better known for writing the Biblical-era historical novel, Ben Hur."   (https://www.itsatrip.org/) "A number of other APS buildings were built, remodeled, or had additions built as the result of this source of this source of funding. Likewise adjacent school playgrounds, ball fields, etc. were also created. The schools include Armijo, Coronado, Duranes, Five...

Milne Stadium was a New Deal project built in 1939. -Aurelio Sanchez

"Albuquerque is home to scores of WPA buildings and works. Among the most prolific are the following- ... John Gaw Meem designed both Scoles Hall and Zimmerman Library on the campus of the University of New Mexico (the corner of University and Central). Both have undergone redesign and restoration, but still carry many of the architects innovative design features. Also on the campus of UNM, the Anthropology building is from that era, and contains three large murals by Joseph Imhof. The Old Albuquerque Municipal Airport (2920 Yale SE) is a Pueblo revival style two-story building that stands in the shadow of the Albuquerque...

This place is extraordinary, a reminder of the days when air travel was a special occasion for which one dressed up. There's a fireplace in the comfortable waiting lobby, and fountains where you stroll outside to board the planes. It's built with traditional adobe methods, with an abundance of artfully crafted detail. There's also quite a bit of artwork, much of it New Deal-era, displayed in the former waiting lounge. The building currently houses Homeland Security for the Albuquerque Sunport airport, but it is open to the public (sort of.) You can walk in, and walk around the building. The...

The New Mexico State Fairgrounds opened at its current location in 1937. In addition to buildings, we should look to New Deal programs for basic infrastructure such as exterior walls, gates and landscaping. "Wilfred Stedham designed the grandstand, paddock, track and clubhouses as a part of this New Deal Project." -Kathryn Flynn

"A number of other APS buildings were built, remodeled, or had additions built as the result of this source of this source of funding. Likewise adjacent school playgrounds, ball fields, etc. were also created. The schools include Armijo, Coronado, Duranes, Five Points School, La Mesa, Lincoln, Los Candelarias, Pajarito, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Stronghurst. For specific information on each of these refer to the Albuquerque Museum Monograph written by Charles Biebel." -Treasures on New Mexico Trails

"Roosevelt Park opened during the middle of the Great Depression. It was built with federal Civil Works Administration funding obtained through Albuquerque Mayor Clyde Tingley's close friendship with President Franklin Roosevelt. The park's name was changed from the original "Terrace Park" soon after its opening to honor its popular benefactor. Designed by local landscape architect and greenhouse operator C. Edmund "Bud" Hollied, the park remains one of the Southwest's best examples of New Deal landscaping. Hollied envisioned a sprawling, lush park in what was previously a sandy, garbage-strewn arroyo. With the work of 275 CWA laborers, each paid $39 per month,...

This WPA adobe school is now part of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. "Double adobe walls provided a bulky exterior when the 10-room modern schoolhouse was built in 1936. The $63,000 school was built by 70 workers over a 10-month period, according to the Biebel book. Now, the old school is part of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Beautifully renovated, it houses the center's library/genealogy center, archives, media room and offices. “It's the nicest and quietest place on campus,” says Carlos Vasquez, the center's history director, “but also the hardest to receive a cell phone call.” The old school, also known as Riverside Elementary,...

"A number of other APS buildings were built, remodeled, or had additions built as the result of this source of this source of funding. Likewise adjacent school playgrounds, ball fields, etc. were also created. The schools include Armijo, Coronado, Duranes, Five Points School, La Mesa, Lincoln, Los Candelarias, Pajarito, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Stronghurst. For specific information on each of these refer to the Albuquerque Museum Monograph written by Charles Biebel." -Treasures on New Mexico Trails

"As the economy began to shrink in 1931, the Santa Fe Railway had to cut its Albuquerque workforce by nearly 40 percent and reduce its workweek to four and a-half days. The county tried to help with temporary road jobs, and the federal government provided commodities, but it wasnt enough. In 1933 the Roosevelt Administration began the Civil Works Administration, which would provide a 90 percent match for public works projects. The CWA in 1933 and 1934 supported more than 30 projects in Albuquerque, including construction of Roosevelt Park and Tingley Beach, and provided hundreds of jobs." -Albuquerque Historical Society

" Tingley was first elected to the City Commission on April 4, 1922, and served continuously until his resignation on January 14, 1935 to begin his term as Governor. He returned to the Commission on October 11, 1939. He served ten years as chairman of the City Commission and in his capacity as chairman was the unofficial mayor of Albuquerque. Tingley reveled in his role as mayor of the city. He did little to reform his colorful, ungrammatical speech and gloried in the limelight. When Hollywood stars passed through Albuquerque, Tingley often met them at the train station where photographers...

This series of six large murals entitled the "Cycle of Science" was created for the old UNM Library in 1934 with funding from the PWAP. The murals depict, respectively, "Astronomy," "Engineering," "Chemistry," "Biology," "Physics," and "Mathematics." The series was designed to complement Willard Nash's paintings depicting physical activities. "Of the science series, Jonson wrote in his Technical Notes, "These studies represent my concept of the spiritual side of modern youth, with the idea that contemporary knowledge offers an emotional and spiritual approach. When the panes are finished I hope to have created not only an ideal wall decoration but works possessing a...

This series of six murals by Willard Nash was designed for the old UNM Library and completed with PWAP funds in 1934. The murals "originally hung for five years opposite six Raymond Jonson murals in Zimmerman Library. These two sets of large paintings were done to portray the physical and spiritual side of mankind. Nash's works depicted the physical side via various athletic activities and later ended up in Carlisle Gymnasium for a number of years. Nash, like Jonson, was a modernist, but his experiments with human form were more moderate and possibly inspired by Cezanne and Picasso" (Flynn: 25). Nash's...

"Albuquerque is home to scores of WPA buildings and works. Among the most prolific are the following- ... John Gaw Meem designed both Scoles Hall and Zimmerman Library on the campus of the University of New Mexico (the corner of University and Central). Both have undergone redesign and restoration, but still carry many of the architects innovative design features. Also on the campus of UNM, the Anthropology building is from that era, and contains three large murals by Joseph Imhof. The Old Albuquerque Municipal Airport (2920 Yale SE) is a Pueblo revival style two-story building that stands in the shadow of the Albuquerque...

"Albuquerque is home to scores of WPA buildings and works. Among the most prolific are the following- ... John Gaw Meem designed both Scoles Hall and Zimmerman Library on the campus of the University of New Mexico (the corner of University and Central). Both have undergone redesign and restoration, but still carry many of the architects innovative design features. Also on the campus of UNM, the Anthropology building is from that era, and contains three large murals by Joseph Imhof. The Old Albuquerque Municipal Airport (2920 Yale SE) is a Pueblo revival style two-story building that stands in the shadow of the Albuquerque...

  The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the Zimmerman Library at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The Zimmerman Library website describes the history of the New Deal structure: "Library collections continued to grow and in 1936 UNM James Fulton Zimmerman secured Public Works Administration funding for campus construction that included $370,000 for a new library building. The impressive facility was designed in the Pueblo Revival Style by John Gaw Meem. Miss Shelton turned the first shovelful of earth at the building site on December 2, 1936 and the new library was opened on April 1, 1938. As before, students, faculty, and...