Central Region

Constructed 1946. The former A.T. & S.F. Freight office in downtown Albuquerque was built in 1946 in an effort to modernize the railroad’s freight operations in the Duke City. The building is an excellent example of a streamlined version of the railroad’s trademark Mission Revival style of architecture. The building Read more…

The Abo Pass Trail Scenic Byway (31 miles; N.M. 47 and U.S. 60) connects the El Camino Real National Scenic Byway and the Salt Missions Trail Scenic Byway. Start your journey in Belen, settled as a farming and railroad community in the Rio Grande Valley. Traveling southeast, the road crosses Read more…

Constructed 1706. The focal point of community life since it was founded in 1706 by Governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdez, the Old Town Plaza district encompasses about ten blocks of historic buildings. On the north side is the San Felipe de Neri Church, the oldest building in the city, which Read more…

Constructed 1880. “This site and its significant historic structures, located in the historic Barelas neighborhood and between the rail road tracks and 2nd Street, reflect an important part of Albuquerque’s economic and industrial past. The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad established locomotive repair shops and offices at the site in the Read more…

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 Read more…

Constructed 1910. The Belen Hotel was quickly built to accommodate the surging railroad business enabled by the rerouting of the major Santa Fe Railroad train traffic through Clovis and the so-called Belen cut-off. The building was purchased over a decade ago by famed artist Judy Chicago and her husband Donald Read more…

Constructed 1909. The construction of the Belen cut-off railroad line through central New Mexico in 1907 was a great boon for the village of Belen. Within two years, the Santa Fe Railroad constructed a handsome depot and Harvey Hotel in the familiar Mission Revival style. Today, the Harvey House has Read more…

The area’s rural agricultural heritage and its connection to the historic Camino Real (17th to 19th centuries) provide it with the potential for noteworthy cultural landscapes. This cultural byway has significance not only for the South Valley community but for the Albuquerque region and state of New Mexico as a Read more…

Constructed 1875. Prior to moving to Corrales, Ward Alan and Shirley Jolly Minge began accumulating scarce Hispanic New Mexican artifacts that would have otherwise been lost. To accommodate their growing collection, the Minges, in 1952 sought out the perfect location for their new home. They found a venerable old adobe Read more…

Constructed 1915. The Central Hotel is similar in architectural style and construction to its more substantial neighbor across the street, the Belen Hotel. The Central also thrived on the heavy railroad commerce ushered into Belen by the Santa Fe railroad after the Belen Cut-off was completed in 1907. The Central Read more…