Historic Albuquerque

❖
It is no secret that Clyde Tingley
enjoyed publicity, and he especially
relished being photographed with
celebrities. On an almost daily basis,
Tingley could be seen in front of the
Alvarado Hotel where he greeted such
notables as Albert Einstein, Charles
Lindbergh, Rudolph Valentino, Mary
Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and
even “Rin Tin Tin,” the German
Shepard movie star. Mayor Tingley
(standing on the far right in the top
photo), established a political
relationship with Franklin Roosevelt
that led to generous government
contracts for Albuquerque. Charles
Lindbergh's successful flight caught
the attention of local enthusiasts
Frank G. Speakman and William L.
Franklin who established the local
airport. Mayor Tingley (standing on
the right in the bottom photo)
provided city equipment and workers
to get the job done.
TOP IMAGE COURTESY OF ALBUQUERQUE
MUSEUM PHOTOARCHIVE PA 1976.142.17. BOTTOM
IMAGE COURTESY OF ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM
PHOTOARCHIVE PA 1976.142.32.
C. Edmund “Bud” Hollied, designed the park
and today it remains one of the finest examples
of New Deal landscaping. The thirteen-acre site
has more than two thousand trees and shrubs
including catalpas and Tingley’s beloved Siberian
elms. The abutment running along the south
side of the park was constructed with salvaged
stone from the old Bernalillo County jail.
New Deal monies were also used to construct
several of the exhibit buildings on the new
fairgrounds located on then the far eastern edge
of the city—on Central Avenue between San
Pedro and Wyoming boulevards. Tingley, along
with Leon Harms, were instrumental in
reintroducing the state fair in 1932.
The University of New Mexico was also the
recipient of a substantial amount of WPA and
PWA funding. Major buildings included a new
administration building (Scholes Hall), library
(Zimmerman Library), student union, and
classrooms, all designed by the renowned
Southwestern architect, John Gaw Meem. Other
significant public buildings constructed during
this period included the Veterans Hospital,
situated on the southeast mesa near the new
municipal airport, and the Federal Building
located downtown at Fifth Street and Gold
Avenue. Meem also designed a new distinctive
Territorial style building, La Quinta, for Albert
Simms’ estate, Los Poblanos, in the North Valley.
Architect E. H. Blumenthal designed the
distinguished Spanish-Pueblo Revival Style
terminal building at the airport—fondly referred
to as “The Sunport” by city residents. A large
crowd gathered on the last day of February in
1937 to watch Governor Tingley turn the first
shovel of dirt at the groundbreaking on the mesa
southeast of the city. The new main hanger was
believed to be the fourth largest hanger in the
country at the time. Blumenthal also
used the Spanish-Pueblo Revival Style in his
design of the city’s new Monte Vista fire station
in the fast-growing Nob Hill area, just east of
the university.
Although Tingley’s personal relationship with
Franklin Roosevelt was undoubtedly a key
factor in channeling New Deal monies into
Albuquerque, by the end of the 1930s the
“winds of war” were in the air and the demand
for wartime industries, military training, and
weapons research, was the major force
beginning to drive the city’s economy.
58 ✦ HISTORIC ALBUQUERQUE