Historic Albuquerque

D RIVE-IN
T HEATERS
Albuquerque, like other big cities, in the ’50s and ’60s, was home to
numerous drive-in movie theaters where customers could enjoy full-length
motion pictures from the comfort of their own car. The Cactus, on south Yale
Boulevard, was the first theater built in 1949. It was soon followed by the
Terrace on Central Avenue, featuring its animated flamenco dancer, and the 66
Drive-In on far west Central.
the state’s first mall. Sears, Roebuck and
Company was its anchor store, and more
downtown stores joined Sears in the new mall.
The construction of Interstate Highways 40 and
25 in the late 1950s and 60s cut through the
city facilitating automobile access to the new
malls and further isolating the old downtown.
Similarly, other retail outlets once located along
Central Avenue in downtown built their new
stores in the northeast heights. Kistler-Collister
opened its modern, stand-alone department store
at the corner of Lomas and San Mateo Boulevards
thus catering to the many workers now
commuting from their new homes to jobs on
Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National
Laboratories. Also moving to its own building
away from downtown was American Furniture
which relocated to the corner of Menaul and
Carlisle boulevards. In the place of these two
major businesses, developers erected more large
office buildings and hotels in the downtown area.
Some retailers such as Maisel’s Indian Arts store,
Kress, and Woolworth’s stayed a few more years;
however, it was clear to most Albuquerque
residents that the era of shopping downtown
was over.
The city’s downtown became a daytime
place with small restaurants and cafes open
to serve breakfast and lunch to office workers.
The exodus of retail stores meant that the
downtown’s historic buildings that were once a
great pride to the city were left vacant and
boarded up. The city commissioners recognized
as early as the late 1950s that the downtown
needed revitalization in order to compete with
the shopping malls being considered for the
northeast heights. In an effort to eradicate this
“blight,” the city, with the help of federal
funding, began planning urban renewal
projects. Block upon block of neglected, turnof-the-century
office buildings, hotels, and
saloons along the west side of First Street, the
once prosperous Gold Avenue, Copper Avenue,
and even Central Avenue were leveled to make
the property attractive for new development.
Architecturally significant buildings such as
the Commercial Club and the N. T. Armijo
Building, the latter with its distinctive red
sandstone facade, Salmancan arches and carved
capitals, as well as less distinctive, but equally
memorable structures, such as the Liberty Cafe
and Kings Hotel fell to the wrecking ball.
Unfortunately, many of these blocks were
converted into surface parking lots rather than
attractive new structures. By 1970, not only
were most of the city’s downtown stores gone,
but so were many of its historic buildings.
D RIVE-IN E ATERIES & N IGHTCLUBS
Albuquerque has had many drive-in food enterprises during its post-World War II history: the
Dog House on west Central, Frank’s, with giant its elephant sign, on Lomas, Lionel’s Drive-In along
Central in the Huning’s Highland neighborhood, Bob’s oversized A-frame drive-through on east
Central, and Larry’s distinctive drive-in or eat-in restaurant on North Fourth. And don’t forget the
numerous A&W Root Beer stands, McDonald’s, Mac’s Steak-in-the-Rough or Blake’s Lot-A-Burgers.
Popular entertainment was provided by dance clubs, which lined Central Avenue (Route 66)
from the Paradise Club in Tijeras Canyon to the Far West Club at the top of Nine Mile Hill on the
western edge of the city. In between were the Chesterfield Club and the Sunset Club, both found
next to the Rio Grande, or the Hitching Post out on the West Mesa. Live music was provided by
local bands such as Al Hurricane, Dick Bills, who featured a fresh-faced young guitarist named
Glen Campbell, and the Hawaiian vocalist Freddie Baker who was featured at the Far West Club
and, later, at the lounges at the Tiki Ki and New China Town.
64 ✦ HISTORIC ALBUQUERQUE