New Mexico Historic Hotels: Two Different Fates

The demolition of grand old hotels is a ongoing tragedy.  A new exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum illustrates the glory which once was the Duke City's Alvarado, and a recent stay at Silver City's  Palace Hotel illustrates the obstacles some of these antiquated properties face accommodating the modern traveler.

The magnificent Alvarado was the inspiration of the Fred Harvey Indian Department working in conjunction with the AT&SF railroad..  Built in 1902, the complex extended two city blocks. Constructed in the Mission style of wood frame with a red clay tile roofing, the complex included a railroad depot and offices, hotel, restaurant, and a museum and gift shop united by a 200-foot arcade and 4-foot exterior walls.  The walls were surfaced with steel lathe and rough gray Portland cement stucco.  The upper levels had projecting parapets and towers influenced by California missions and included features like pierced facades used for hanging bells and four-sided bell towers with open arches. 

 

Perhaps the Alvarado's best loved featured was the Indian and Mexican Building Museum, which was positioned along the arcade south of the lunchroom and within reach of passengers traveling on the railroad.  The Indian Room held native work from the regions linked by the railroad, and the Spanish Room featured a collection of Spanish, Mexican, and New Mexican art.  The salesroom had shelves of southwestern pottery and the Navajo jewelry the Harvey Company specially commissioned for its appeal to travelers.  As a child I had two Harvey bracelets, and one daughter collects them.

Unfortunately, time and the economy was not kind to the Alvarado, and in spite of heroic efforts by Albuquerque. Historical Society, it fell victim to the wrecking ball in February 1970. An auction was held, and everything was sold off to eager buyers.  Fortunately, those buyers valued the material, which often was donated to the museum.  These artifacts are the basis of the current exhibit, which runs through June 7, 2009.  It is comprehensive.  You'll find everything from the trademark Syracuse Denmark china and Gorham Churchill silver to door hardware from the Cocina Cantina, the one-time lounge.  

On a recent fact-gathering trip through southern New Mexico, I had the opportunity to stay at one of the state's still-operating historic hotels , The Palace in Silver City.  The imposing building with its cast iron front was built for the Meredith and Ailman bank in 1882. Converted to a hotel in 1900, the new owner Max Shutz "spared no pains or expense to make the new hotel an up-to-date house in every respect...(with) every modern hotel convenience such as closets, bath rooms (sic), electric lights."

The Place has experienced many ups and downs since then.  Purchased by Cal and Nancy Thompson in 1990, the hotel has been restored and refurbished with the help of the Main Street Project and the New Mexico Historical Preservation Office.  For aficionados of old properties with a Victorian flair, The Palace has some predictable eccentricities.  There are no elevators, and the climb to the second level is long.  At the head of the stairs, a sitting room doubles as the breakfast nook.  Rooms split off the long, narrow halls and vary greatly in decor.  

Since I booked late, no single rooms were available, so I reserved a suite.  My "suite" consisted of two rooms divided by a bath consisting of tub/shower and toilet.  The quarters were so crowded that my knees touched the tub while perched on the throne.  The larger of the two rooms was dark with a blocked window and contained a king bed, a dressing table, end table and sink. The smaller room which overlooked the street had a rump-sprung coach, a television, microwave, sink, and a small refrigerator.   This was definitely not the Ritz.

After a continental breakfast in the morning , I stuck my head in several rooms which were waiting for the maid and discovered several brighter, more pleasant accommodations.  Next time I'm in Silver, I'll call ahead and try for one of the quarters with a queen bed.  Room 70 was especially inviting.  

Two hotels, one still hanging on with the patronage of travelers willing to  put up with some inconvenience, one destroyed for a parking lot.  I'll take the inconvenience any day.

The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, 19th & Mountain Road, NW, Albuquerque 87104,  (505) 243-7255.  Closed Monday.  Fee.  www.cabq.gov.museum 

For information on existing Harvey Houses, go to Fred Harvey Harvey Houses www.harveyhouses.net/index.html 

The Palace Hotel, 106 Broadway, Silver City 88061.  (575) 388-1811.  www.zinanet.com/palacehotel 

Award Double Header

This week it's been raining blessings. My book Backroads & Byways of New Mexico: Drives, Day Trips and Weekend Excursions was named a winner in the New Mexico Book Awards. The publisher is The Countryman Press, a division of W.W. Norton, and the guide is available through bookstores and on-line.

In addition, I received notice that I had been awarded writer of the year in "2008 Best of Albuqueque," sponsored by the U.S. Local Business Association. I am honored to receive the accolade because no matter where I roam in my writing career, Albuquerque is home--my favorite place on earth.

Just When It Was Safe to Go Into the Woods...

For your first experience at Geocaching, I suggest you steer clear of timing your trek to coincide with a July mid-afternoon in New Mexico. This cautionary tale is based on sweat, exhaustion, and frustration, all of which could have been avoided with a bit of common sense.

For husband Dick’s recent birthday, our children decided to present their dad with the latest in electronic gadgetry, a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit. After a few auto jaunts with our in-car navigator, we figured we’d give the popular new sport of Geocaching a try.

For those not keeping up with the trends, Geocaching is a seek and find game where participants use a GPS to unearth hidden containers or caches. Locally we have hundreds. A typical cache is a waterproof container, frequently an old Army ammo can, filled with a logbook and “treasure,” usually trinkets or toys. Geocaches are registered on various websites. We downloaded our selected cache’s coordinates from http://www.geocaching.com/.

To make our search easier, we selected to find our cache in the Rio Grande Nature Center, a nearby state park. This year New Mexico Geocachers in cooperation with New Mexico State Parks are celebrating the parks’ 75th Anniversary by placing a cache in each of the 34 state parks. A prize is awarded for cachers completing the entire series by December 31, 2008.

The Rio Grande Nature Center is a serene oasis along the river bosque in Albuquerque. Included on the riverine site are interpretive nature trails, demonstration gardens, a visitors center with numerous exhibits, and a wetland blind overlooking a pond filled with Canada geese, native and migrating waterfowl, a brace of lazy turtles, and in summer a swarm of hummingbirds.

Having worked as a volunteer at the Center, I figured finding this cache would be easy and quick. Experienced cachers would probably have found the exercise easy. We made several mistakes. Not fully understanding the workings of our GPS unit was the first; not taking a supply of water, the second; and walking the trails at noon was the third. We hiked and hiked. Every time we got close to one coordinate, the other was wrong. Finally we stopped and asked a park ranger. He laughed and pointed to the spot where I stood. It was within three feet.

Now we have 1/34th of our list complete. It was fun, but the next time we go Geocaching, we will be sure of our equipment, try to find the place in early morning or evening if in summer, and carry plenty of water.

To round off the day, we drove downtown for lunch at one of the Burq’s top boutique pizza places, Il Vincino. Our shared 12-inch wood-oven-fired Testarosa featured marinara sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, roasted red peppers, calamata olives, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and fresh oregano, all washed down with big glasses of their in-house brewed root beer.

For a cooling dessert, we walked a couple doors down to Ecco Gelato for a cup of one of their daily 22 flavors. I tried a sample of the strawberry habañero. What a flavor explosion! It starts out smooth and sweet, ending at the back of the palate with a pepper blast. Perhaps the next time I’ll go for the full cup, but that afternoon I settled on fig and orange paired with the honey apricot, an agreeable reward for a day of bushwhacking.

Rio Grande Nature Center, 2901 Candelaria NW, Albuquerque, 87107. Hours: Gate opens, Monday-Sunday, 8 AM to 5 PM; Visitors Center, 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission $3 per vehicle. Leashed dogs allowed only on the path bordered by a fence that extends west from Candelaria NW (guide dogs excepted).

Geocache web site: http://www.geocaching.com/

Il Vicino, 3403 Central Ave. NE, Albuquerque 87106. 505-266-7855. Hours, Sunday-Thursday, 11 AM to 11 PM; Friday and Saturday, 11 AM to midnight.

Ecco Gelato, 3409 Central Ave., Albuquerque 87106. 505-660-4721. Hours, Monday-Thursday, 7 AM to 10 PM; Friday and Saturday, 7 AM to 11 PM; Sunday, 8 AM to 10 PM.

The Mystery of the Hidden Pueblo

Discovering Piedras Marcadas was like finding Machu Picchu in your backyard. I’ve written about Albuquerque’s new Open Space Visitors Center before, but until this past weekend I had no idea they protected treasures like this pueblo as well.

A part of the Petroglyph National Monument, Piedras Marcadas or Marked Stones, was a pueblo occupied between AD 1300 and the mid-1500’s. With three main multi-storied structures and over 1,000 rooms, it is the largest remaining intact pueblo in the middle Rio Grande Valley.

If the pueblo was so large, why haven’t we seen ruins, or why hasn’t it been reconstructed like the pueblo at Coronado State Monument? The answer is part luck and part preservation. In the 1940s and 1950s archaeologists were everywhere in the Rio Grande Valley, digging and hauling artifacts away to museums. At that time Piedras Marcadas was on private land, and the site had only a small home.

By the early 1980s the landowners wanted to develop the land for condominiums. In a forced move, the city purchased the property for open space. Due to the religious connection between the ancient residents and the rich concentrations of petroglyphs on West Mesa, the pueblo was included in the Petroglyph National Monument’s boundaries.

To provide an introduction to the tour, city archaeologist Matt Schmader gave a 45-minute talk on the history of the terrain and the people who inhabited it. We learned paleo-Indians wandered our land as early as 12,000 BP. Before Coronado and his depredations, dozens of pueblos rimmed the Rio Grande.

Our visit was a rare privilege. The location is fenced and locked and open only for special events such as the talk and tour organized by the Visitors Center. As we plowed through a crop of dead weeds, we made our way to the first of three mounds. No foliage grew there. Under a layer of sand, the old adobe walls provide an obstruction to growth. Pot shards, grinding tools, and flint knapped chert covered the ground.

As we walked from area to area, Schmader fielded questions and pointed out exceptional examples of different types of pottery. A frantic killdeer mother scurried this way and that, pretending a broken wing to lure us away from her clutch of four speckled eggs. A metate, abandoned a century ago, rested near a patch of buffalo gourd.

Out of respect for today’s Tiwa people, who are direct descendents of the ancient villagers, new non-invasive methods using electrical current are being used to delineate structures. It is a work in progress. Piedras Marcardas will never be uncovered using the old methods of excavation. It will sleep peacefully under its blanket of sand, safe for further generations.

City of Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center
6500 Coors Blvd NW
Between Montano Blvd. and Paseo del Norte at the end of Bosque Meadows Rd
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 897-8831
www.cabq.gov/openspace/visitorcenter.html

Dem Dry Dino Bones

Wanna’ feel like a kid again? Hustle over to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Greeting you as you enter the lobby, Stan, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, assumes a threatening pose. After your first introduction to ancient bones, start your “walk through time,” by hastening up to the second floor where you begin with “Origins,” an introduction into the beginnings of life on earth. All fossils and artifacts were discovered in New Mexico.

From single-celled organisms to the age of super giants, the Jurassic, it’s an experience in awe and wonder. You progress through the dawn of time when New Mexico actually had a seacoast, to the explosive Age of Volcanos, the evolving Grasslands, the Pleistocene represented by a cave mock-up, and the Ice Age.

In the new Triassic exhibit you view the battle between the crocodile-like Phytosaur and the armored Placerias. If this doesn’t give you the shivers, nothing will. A two-ton piece of rock from the Ghost Ranch near Abiquiq illustrates how pile on pile of fossilized bone can present paleontologists with a merry puzzle.

From the Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the Triassic, you progress into the Age of the Super Giants, the Jurassic. It’s impossible to describe the feeling of puniness standing next to the immense plant-eating Seimosaurus, locked in battle with the meat-eating Saurophaganax (see photo). The big lizard’s name means “earthquake lizard,” and it’s 110 feet long from snout to tip of tail. It weighed about 30 tons.

Your next stop is the Extinction Room which illustrates in sound and light the devastation caused by the huge meteor which is believed to have finished off the big boys in the preceding exhibit.

After completing up your explorations, you can attend a show at the Planetarium or visit the Lockheed Martin Dynatheater presentations of “Dinosaurs Alive!” and “The Living Sea.” Check out the interactive Nature Center, or pick up a souvenir at the Nature Works store. The museum’s M Café is a great place to stop for a snack or a meal. I’d especially recommend their green chile stew.

New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 1801 Mountain Road NW (Old Town), Albuquerque. 505-841-2800. Daily, 9 AM to 5 PM. http://www.nmnaturalhistory.org/.

Albuquerque Aquarium & Rio Grande Botanical Gardens

Spring was definitely showing her slip on a recent visit to Albuquerque’s Botanical Park. Delicate snowdrops dipped their heads to the breeze, and saffron and purple crocuses showed their true colors.

Although it was very early for garden tours, children of all ages were out enjoying the early March warmth. Toddlers staggered through the Children’s Fantasy Garden, whizzed down the tree trunk slide, watched the G-scale model railroad threading its route through miniature landscapes, and in general attempted escape from parental control. Ducks and geese made a noisy confusion at pond edge. Older couples walked arm and arm, checking out plant varieties and wondering when the flowering trees would pop.

Activity at the Heritage Farm was just beginning. A lazy Jersey heifer and a couple of somnolent sheep stretched out in the weak sun. The vegetable garden had been plowed, and the vineyard looked ready to leaf out. A single white Peking duck nibbled new green shoots, and in the chicken coop a few hens tentatively tested the weather. Lazy pigs, too exhausted to move from the barnyard door, made small moan.

In addition to the Gardens, the Farm and the Japanese garden (which we shall cover in another visit), the Park is the site of Albuquerque’s Aquarium. Don’t expect another Atlanta extravaganza. The floor plan is considerably more modest, but it takes visitors on a journey down the Rio Grande from Albuquerque to the river’s mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. Special highlights include an eel tunnel, luminous jellies, and a 285,000 gallon ocean tank where sharks swim alongside reef fish, sea turtles, and open ocean species. On the day of our visit we saw several new-born black tip shark pups.

A perfect end to our visit was lunch at the Shark Reef Café with its multiple aquarium windows and broad wall backing on the Aquarium’s shark tank. Children love this place, and it was packed with kids, parents, and grandparents, all taking in the constantly moving panorama swimming by. We found the food excellent, well above the usual burgers and fries. My Shark Reef Breakfast plate was a mélange of home fries, sausage, bacon and ham topped with cheese, chile and an egg. The half serving ordered was enough for two! My husband’s guacamole burger was tasty, well presented, and served with a crisp green salad. Breakfast is served all day.

Those with shorter time frames can view much of the Biopark, which includes the Zoo, by hopping aboard the narrow guage ¾ scale Thunderbird Express which travels between the Zoo and Aquarium/Botanic Garden with a stop at Tingley Beach. The Biopark is handicap accessible, and both stroller rentals and wheelchairs are available.

Albuquerque Biopark
2601 Central Ave. NW
Albuquerque 87104
(505) 848-6200
Hours: Monday through Sunday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM; Saturday & Sunday (June-August only) 9:00 AM through 6:00 PM
http://www.biopark@cabq.gov/

The Reef Café, (505) 646-7182
Hours: 9:00 AM to 6 PM Saturday and Sunday in summer: 9:00 to 5:00 rest of the year.
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Natural Albuquerque: Our Open Spaces

A duet of high-altitude clacking drew my eyes upward as a pair of sandhill cranes negotiated two mammoth cottonwoods and gracefully landed on the cornfield in back of Albuquerque’s Open Space Visitor Center. A kettle of their stately compatriots were making short work of the recently cut agricultural field specially planted for their delectation.

The late winter day was in the 30s, and I knew we were fortunate to see the cranes before they undertook their yearly spring migration to Nebraska’s Platte River. Wintering along the Rio Grande Valley from Albuquerque to Bosque del Apache and south, they are one of the delights of our region.

It was my first visit to the Center and I was impressed by the facility, which had opened in 2006. Perhaps I hadn’t visited before because it was so darn accessible, a short distance off Coors Boulevard on the West Side where I live. I’d brushed it off thinking it probably was some uninspiring shack on the bosque. I was so wrong.

The center sits on 55 acres, half of which is harvestable cropland planted in sorghum for the wildlife, and half contains the unexcavated site of Piedras Marcadas, prehistoric pueblo ruins. The building was originally the private residence of Mr. and Mrs. Coda Roberson. Little evidence of the home remains since the structure has been transformed into a multi-use facility with an art gallery, meeting rooms, kitchen, exhibit space interpreting the natural and cultural resources Open Space protects, and lots and lots of big windows opening out to one of the most beautiful views in Albuquerque. The Center hosts special art exhibits and educational programs throughout the year.

Albuquerque’s Open Space program is one of the most ambitious in the Southwest. Since 1969 the city has acquired more than 24,000 acres of open space land, and it manages another 4,000 acres. To name a few plots, this includes Elena Gallegos/Albert G. Simms Park at the base of the Sandias; Rio Grande State Park including Alameda/Rio Grande wetlands; Rio Grande Nature Center; Los Poblanos Fields; and in Petroglyph National Monument a number of areas of cultural and geologic importance like Piedras Marcadas Canyon, Boca Negra Canyon, and Rinconada Canyon.

To support the city’s program, the Open Space Alliance (OSA) is a group of volunteers working with the town to preserve, maintain, and improve our natural, historical, and cultural resources. Funded solely through membership dues, the OSA provides a tax-exempt means for citizens, organizations, and corporations to donate to the city’s Open Space Division.

The cranes will soon be gone on their unending journey between nesting and wintering grounds. They will be missed as we trace their journey by the faint sounds of their passing. As the seasons transform the unparalleled views of bosque and mountains, visitors in the know will stop at this quiet place for hiking the river trail, nature study, and contemplation.

City of Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center
6500 Coors Blvd NW
Between Montano Blvd. and Paseo del Norte at the end of Bosque Meadows Rd.
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 897-9931
www.cabq.gov/openspace/visitorcenter.htm
Open Space Alliance
P.O. Box 91265
Albuquerque, NM 87199
(505) 452-5200
www.openspacealliance.org

Pueblo Women Artists

On a hot, humid summer day in the upper Susquehanna River Valley, I discovered a passion. Always a hound for hand-thrown pottery, I went on a day trip to visit my favorite Pennsylvania craftsman, Bill Lynch of Penns Creek Pottery. After a sojourn with Bill and lemonade and cookies with his wife and family, I decided to continue on to Mifflinburg, a tiny town known mainly as the site of a buggy museum and a store selling Amish quilts.

Strolling down the quiet streets I came upon an old white Georgian home advertising antiques. It looked deserted but a jangle on the bell brought the stooped, grey-haired proprietor to the door.

“Wha’ cha’ lookin for,” he queried without much grace. “Old Indian stuff,” I replied. I’d visited the Southwest recently and admired the Pueblo pottery. “Well, I got some arrow heads,” he said. When I shook my head, he reached under the counter and brought up a pot. “Had this ugly black thing for 30 years, and I’d like to ride myself of it. You can have it for $25.” I almost fainted. He had a 1920 Santa Clara wedding vase. Of course, I paid the ridiculously low price, grabbed the vase, and ran out the door like a thief in the night.

Eventually I moved to New Mexico, the genesis of my treasured pot. Luckily Albuquerque and Santa Fe are rife with museums highlighting Native American art. Currently, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in collaboration with the Adobe Gallery of Santa Fe is presenting “Timeless Beauty: Pueblo Women Artists of the 20th Century.”

Represented artists include Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso; Lucy Lewis, Acoma; Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara; Helen Hardin, Santa Clara; Margaret Tafoya, Santa Clara; Helen Cordero, Cochiti; Tonita Pena, San Ildefonso/Cochiti; and Blue Corn, San Ildefonso.

Not all are potters. Paintings include Pabilta Velarde’s watercolor of Mimbres Turtles and Helen Hardin’s geometric abstracts like “Medicine Woman.” If you’re attracted to pottery, you won’t want to miss Blue Corn’s eggshell polychrome pot or Helen Cordero’s storytellers, which she described as coming “out of my heart. They’re singing. Can’t you hear them? I talk to them. They’re my little people. Not just pretty things I make for money.”

Leaving the exhibit room I walked over to a single display attributed only to an early Santa Clara potter. Before signing became the norm, potters did not dignify their work this way. The huge black storage pot had a true timeless quality and lent a baseline for the remarkable pottery which came after. Its rag and stone polished surface mirrored the finish of my old wedding vase, and I wondered once again at the skill, talent, and patience which created such timeless beauty.

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th St. NW, Albuquerque 87104; (866) 855-7902. www.indianpueblo.org. Timeless Beauty runs through June 14.