ABQPedia

AKA: Tamarisk. Shrubs/trees of the genus Tamarix. Salt- and drought-tolerant, tamarisk was imported to North America in the early 1900s for erosion control and windbreaks after extensive irrigation began to lessen water available for native trees. Salt cedar quickly naturalized and began spreading along riverine areas in the Southwest including along the Rio Grande, in some areas completely crowding out native vegetation. Sprouting readily from stumps and roots, salt cedar is difficult to remove from areas once established; periodic burning is often used for suppression but even bulldozing cannot completely eradicate it. The long tap roots that enable tamarisk to survive in dry areas can also bring up salts that get deposited on the surface, hence the name. While long considered as a "thirsty" pest species and often considered to be an invasive threat to the bosque ecosystem, new research -- and the difficulty in suppressing the species -- has led to new approaches to management of bosque areas where salt cedar is present.

Created in 1942 as Albuquerque Air Depot Training Station for aircraft maintenance personnel, built on the site of the civilian Oxnard Field. Referred to colloquially as "Sandia Base" due to the proximity of the Sandia Mountains, name formalized in 1945. The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project took jurisdiction in 1947, moving there many of the atomic weapon development facilities associated with Los Alamos. Sandia Laboratory (now Sandia National Laboratories) developed in 1948. Merged in 1971 with Kirtland and Manzano Bases, which federated facilities are now known as Kirtland Air Force Base.
Kirtland Air Force Base website

Site running along Sandia Crest hosting several dozen transmission towers; the highest-elevation major "tower farm" in the continental US. Beginning in 1953, Albuquerque TV (and later, FM radio) stations erected antennas on the site to exploit the altitude and line-of-sight to increase coverage area. The "antenna farm" has grown steadily since then. With aviation hazard lights atop the towers, the antenna farm provides a nighttime navigational reference for Albuquerqueans. In winter months the towers are often coated with ice, resulting in a distinctive skyline silhouette that is nicknamed the "rocket garden".

Cave in Las Huertas Canyon above Placitas on the east side of the Sandia Mountains that holds evidence of human habitation. The site was discovered in 1936 and excavated by University of New Mexico archaeologists over the next few years; bones of mastodon, mammoth, and giant sloth were found, as well as stone tools and pieces of woven baskets and moccasins. The objects suggested some of the earliest human occupation of North America, however concerns regarding the integrity of the site arose and the findings are now considered controversial. UNM professor Frank Hibben's involvement in the discovery of "Sandia Points", with suggestions of poor research practice or outright fraud, is likewise controversial.

(1859?-1887) Marino Leyba, AKA: Mariano Leyba, Merino Leyba, Marino Leiba, Mariano Leiva. Outlaw who gained his nickname terrorizing villagers and travelers along the east side of the Sandia Mountains. Became the subject of a manhunt in 1880 after Leyba and others allegedly robbed and killed a U.S. Geological Survey official near Golden. When apprehended Leyba could not be tried for the crime as there were no living witnesses, the rest of the gang having been lynched. Leyba was imprisoned on other charges (including having shot at Pat Garrett); once released from prison he continued in outlawry including horse theft, based out of the village of San Antonio. After being involved in robbing and killing two sheepherders, Leyba was killed while resisting arrest.

See Manzano Mountain Monkeys

AKA: Sandia Peak Tram. Formally, Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway. Opened May 7, 1966 after 24 months of construction. 2.7 miles in diagonal length; the cables at midway point are 1,000 feet above the ground. Makes over 10,000 trips a year.
Sandia Peak Tramway website

AKA: San Felipe Neri Church. Originally built 1706-1719 as San Francisco Xavier Church, on the west side of what is now Old Town Plaza. That church collapsed in 1792, and was replaced with a new structure on the north side of the plaza in 1793. Has been remodeled several times, with the addition of a rectory and the Sister Blandina Convent. Still an active Catholic parish church, much visited by tourists to Old Town.
San Felipe de Neri Parish website

Large Victorian-style hotel that was at Fifth Street and Gold Avenue, with 3 floors and 80 guest rooms. Rather than having a saloon, the hotel had a library. Opened in 1885; destroyed by fire (as happened with so many large hotels of the period) in 1889.

See San Felipe de Neri Church

AKA: San Ygnacio Church. Martineztown, Albuquerque. Built in 1916.

AKA: San Jose Demonstration and Experimental School, San Jose Demonstration School, San Jose Training School. Founded in 1930 in Albuquerque's South Valley for the purpose of training bilingual teachers. Developed by Loyd Tireman, who was on the faculty of the Education Department of the University of New Mexico.

See Railroad Hospital

AKA: The Healer, El Sanador, The New Mexican Messiah, The Christ Man. (1856-1896) Alsatian-born mystic who gained reputation as a healer during an 1890s pilgrimage walk around the American West. In July 1895 he established himself in and around Albuquerque, where hundreds of people from the surrounding villages flocked to him. Went on retreat near Datil, hosted by Ada McPherson Morley who became one of his strongest supporters. Journeyed into Mexico where he disappeared. A skeleton and his possessions were discovered in the Sierra Madres in Mexico in 1897, though some dispute that they were actually Schlatter's remains especially as several imposters tried to use his name. His "Healer's Rod", a heavy copper rod associated with him, is held at The Palace of the Governors museum. Sometimes confused with Juan Maria Agostiniani, "The Hermit of New Mexico".
State Historian webpage on Francis Schlatter

(1935-) Native of Santa Rita New Mexico (which town no longer exists, having been consumed by the nearby open-pit copper mine) and raised in Silver City; resident of Albuquerque. Geologist who worked to develop techniques to be used by astronauts; he joined NASA in 1965 when there was increased focus on having scientist-astronauts in the Apollo program. Became Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 17, and in December 1972 became the 12th man to walk upon the Moon. After retiring from NASA, was elected a Senator from New Mexico. Author of the book Return to the Moon : exploration, enterprise, and energy in the human settlement of space; noted for his efforts to encourage exploitation of the Helium-3 in lunar regolith as a fuel source.

(1850-1941) Italian Sister of Charity nun who came to Albuquerque in 1880 with five other nuns at the invitation of San Felipe de Neri Church's priest Father Gasparri to take over education in the area. Sister Blandina oversaw the construction of the convent adjacent to the church, which convent now bears her name. Wrote a book of her life, At the End of the Santa Fe Trail, "the story of the missionary work of a Sister of Charity in the Southwest of territorial days".

Moved to New Mexico in 1902 (? -- sources cite 1901-1903) where he quickly became involved in organizing the Territorial Fair. Early developer of New Town Albuquerque, platting out the area that would become Nob Hill and giving the streets names of universities. Responsible for the petition drive renaming Railroad Avenue to Central Avenue. Served as Albuquerque Mayor 1912-1913, and later as a State Senator.

(2000- ) Born in Albuquerque, grew up in East Mountains. Actress who got national attention for her role as Prim in The Hunger Games and subsequent movies in the series.

Albuquerque boy who in 1996 found a rare dinosaur egg shell in sands along the Rio Puerco. Three years old at the time, David dug the piece up with his toy backhoe and stoutly maintained that it was part of a dinosaur egg. Examination by experts at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science confirmed that it was a rare specimen dating back 150 million years.

Indie rock band formed in Albuquerque in 1996. After mainstream success 2003-2007 the band signed with Columbia Records and is currently based in Portland Oregon.

Originally planted as a beautification and wind-control measure, encouraged by a free distribution program masterminded by Clyde Tingley in the 1940s-50s, the hardy Siberian Elm rapidly became invasive in the Albuquerque environment and spread outward along the Rio Grande Valley. Seeding freely ("Tingley Snow"), with the ability to sprout from roots or stumps, the Siberian Elm is now officially a pest species. (It has been illegal to plant the tree in Albuquerque since the City's 1996 anti-pollen ordinance.) The Elm is noted for crowding out native trees in the bosque (as do the other introduced species salt cedar and Russian olive), producing bushy-growth forest areas that are good fodder for wildfires. There are a few city streets arched with surviving old-growth elms, but most were cut down in the 1980s.

(1948-) Laguna Pueblo, born in Albuquerque. Leading figure in the "Native American Renaissance" writers. Author of many short stories, essays, and poems. Recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Grant and the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award. Best known for the novels Ceremony and Almanac of the Dead.

AKA: Musical Road. Along a stretch of Route 66, alongside US 40 in Tijeras Canyon west of the village of Tijeras. Installed in 2014 with funds provided by National Geographic, the series of rumble strips near the edge of the lane play the chorus of "America the Beautiful" when passed over at 45 mph. The tuned road surface was installed as an experiment in speed limit management for the television series Crowd Control.

See Blandina Segale

Structure adjacent to the San Felipe de Neri Church in Albuquerque's Old Town. Built under the supervision of Sister Blandina Segale in 1881, the structure provided schoolrooms on the first floor ("Loyola Hall") with rooms for the teaching sisters upstairs. The Sisters of Charity later moved to St. Vincent's Academy. The building has also been used as an infirmary, post office, and school.

Teaching order of nuns who came to Albuquerque in 1880 at the request of Father Gasparri of San Felipe de Neri Church. The Sisters established schools at the Sister Blandina Convent adjacent to San Felipe de Neri, Our Lady of the Angels, and founded St. Vincent's Academy. They also founded the St. Joseph Sanatorium in 1902.

See Manzano Base

(1957- ) AKA: Madolyn Smith-Osborne. Born in Albuquerque, actress best known from roles in Urban Cowboy and the TV miniseries If Tomorrow Comes.

Served 1995-1998 as a reporter on KOAT-TV. Served as reporter with CNN 1998-2003, moved to ABC and Good Morning America. From 2010 on a correspondent with NBC.

(1875-1957) Businessman and entrepeneur whose family came to New Mexico when he was 7 years old. Involved in several businesses in Albuquerque, married Elizabeth Baldridge in 1911. Served as Director of the Territorial Fair. Wrote numerous articles for New Mexico Magazine. Author of For Me, The Sun: The autobiography of Roy A. Stamm, an early Albuquerque business leader which is as much about the growth of Albuquerque after 1882 as it is about his own life.

The New Mexico Territorial Fair was held each September 1882-1912 in Albuquerque. The State Fair was instituted in 1938, with an attendance of 64,000. The Fairgrounds are in the middle of the Albuquerque Heights (an area that in 1938 was on the outskirts of the town) and have been renamed Expo New Mexico, which name is sometimes applied to the Fair itself. The Fair runs in September and features rodeos, concerts, a midway, and livestock, agriculture, arts, crafts, and home economics exhibits.

AKA: San Agustin, Saint Augustine, San Augustin de la Isleta. At Isleta Pueblo. Mission church built in 1612.

See College of St. Joseph on the Rio Grande

Tuberculosis sanatorium founded in 1902 by the Sisters of Charity. The sanatorium added a regular hospital in the 1920s, expanding to fill several blocks from I-25 west to Edith Boulevard and becoming the St. Joseph Hospital complex, now part of the Lovelace Sandia Health System.

Formally, St. Mary's Catholic School Albuquerque. Started in 1892 as the Immaculate Conception Elementary School, at 6th and Central. Was expanded several times, including the building of a hall called St. Mary's. Sometime 1920-1922 the name of the hall was adopted for the school, which began accepting high school students. Run by nuns of the Sisters of Charity since 1893, and active today. President Theodore Roosevelt visited St. Mary’s School in 1903.
St. Mary's School website

(1836-1927) Moved to New Mexico in 1876, serving in a variety of public offices including Bernalillo County Commissioner, Territorial Legislator, and in the Senate. First President of UNM, serving 1891-1897. Involved in Albuquerque area business and one of the founders of the First National Bank of Albuquerque. With Franz Huning and William Hazeldine formed the New Mexico Town Company in partnership with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad; the Company was influential in the growth of Albuquerque. Stover Avenue is named for him.

See European Hotel

AKA: St. Vincent's, St. Vincent Academy. All-girl Catholic school developed in Albuquerque by the Sisters of Charity. Began as the Our Lady of the Angels School in 1881; became St. Vincent's Academy in 1884. The private campus was at Sixth Street and Lomas. The Academy closed in 1969, and the building demolished in the early 1970s.

See USS Albuquerque SSN-706

Built in 1923 by real estate entrepeneur Joe Barnett on the site of the White Elephant Saloon on Central Avenue and 2nd Street. The six-story building offered professional offices on the upper floors; the Sunshine Theater occupied the ground floor. The building stands today, with the movie theater used as performance space. The Sunshine Building is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a Historic Landmark by the city of Albuquerque.

Movie theater which occupied the ground floor of the Sunshine Building built in 1928 on Central Avenue and 2nd Street. One of Albuquerque's first "movie palaces" (a distinction shared with the KiMo Theatre built in 1927), the Sunshine showed first-run movies until 1974 and stopped operating as a movie theater in 1980. It has since been remodeled and is operating as a live music venue.

(1927-2008) Moved to Albuquerque in 1965. Noted illustrator and fine artist, who taught at the University of Albuquerque and UNM Community College. Paintings in major collections. Commentator on art and film for local broadcast media. Did cover art for several books.