About



Hi everyone! My name is Ben and I grew up in Albuquerque.

Do you ever drive by an old building and wonder who built it, or why? I do that all the time, and when I start wondering things like that, I can’t stop until I’ve found the answer. I started this blog so I could turn all of that energy into something productive, and hopefully give people something fun to read at the same time. My goal here is to share some of the lesser-known episodes from Albuquerque’s history and show that fascinating stories are all around us. I’m primarily focusing on the built environment because that’s what interests me personally, but I may bring you other types of stories too. Whatever it is, I hope you will learn something you think is interesting. Thanks for reading!

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A song of ice, fire, and… Buicks? Albuquerque’s Ice Arena

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A while back, I came across an old photo on Reddit showing an aerial view looking west along Central Avenue. Something that immediately caught my attention was the large building in the lower right labeled "BUICK"—this building is still there, but I certainly didn't know anything about it ever being used as a car dealership. Many years ago it used to have a bowling sign on the roof, so I'd always assumed it was an old bowling alley. This turned out not to be true; the bowling alley was actually next door. What I found is that the building was used as a Buick dealership at one time, but that was only a short chapter in what has to be one of the strangest histories of any building in the city. This is the story of the Albuquerque Ice Arena. The mystery begins: notice the large building at the extreme lower right labeled "BUICK". This view is looking west along Central from about San Mateo, c. 1960. Via Reddit. Bowling? Author's photo, 2003. ...
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Much a-brew about nothing: The curious history of Tower Plaza

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Downtown at the corner of Second and Marquette, you'll find a strange looking building. It has a two-story base, a 67-foot windowless tower, and a tall antenna on top, and is currently painted bright purple with a floral design. It's eye-catching, for sure, but what is it? The name, Tower Plaza, doesn't offer many clues. If you guessed it's an apartment building, that’s a strange guess, because it doesn't look anything like an apartment building, but you'd be right. It has had a lot of other lives before becoming an apartment building, though. The building's whole history spans nearly 100 years and includes everything from Nazis to (indirectly) Elvis, so you know it's going to be a wild ride. Tower Plaza building, c. 2018. Via Realtor.com . Our story starts in 1922, when a guy named Moses R. Buchanan (1885-1965) 1 came to Albuquerque from El Paso to start the Albuquerque Ice Company. 2 In January, 1923, the company started building "the mos...
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Who killed the motorettes?

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This story is a little different from what I usually write about because it's not centered around a building, but a group of people—pioneering women who broke down barriers in the early 20th century. They were called motorettes, a name that probably doesn't mean a whole lot to most people today, but back in 1920s they were a familiar part of Albuquerque's urban landscape, as commonplace as paperboys or milkmen. The motorettes were the drivers of the city's streetcars, and for nine years they braved crime, accidents, and the elements to take people where they needed to go. And then they were rewarded for this hard work by being deliberately cast aside and forgotten about. Meanwhile, the man who was largely responsible for their demise continues to be remembered and honored to this day. I would like to set the record a bit straighter. Motorette Elsie Westerfeld, c. 1927. Via Albuquerque Museum . First, a little context. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
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