Barelas is an inner-city neighborhood of Albuquerque located immediately south of downtown. It consists of the triangular area bounded by Coal Avenue, the BNSF railroad tracks, and the Rio Grande. Originally a separate village, it was absorbed into Albuquerque during the railroad fueled growth of the 1880s but still retains a distinct identity.
The settlement was formerly established in 1662, predating even Old Town as the oldest neighborhood in the city. Although it was long one of Albuquerque’s most economically distressed areas, Barelas has seen significant development since the opening of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in 2000 and may be starting to experience gentrification. An early alignment of US Route 66 (1927-36) followed Fourth Street through the neighborhood, and many buildings and residences trace their significance to that era. The neighborhood gained notoriety as a filming location for the cult TV series “Breaking Bad.”
Fourth St., Stover Ave., Bridge St. Albuquerque, NM 87102
Photos by Gary Cascio and Elmo Baca.
