Old Town Albuquerque

Many old cities across the country have an old town where the first settlers congregated and sold or traded goods.  Few in the west are as old as Albuquerque’s old town.  If you look closely at this sewer cover in one of the downtown streets, you see the city celebrated it’s tricentennial in 2006.  Colorado, where we were born, celebrated it’s 130 birthday that year.

 

Old town has numerous old and beautiful adobe buildings.

This is the Church of SanFelipe de Neri, the oldest church in Albuquerque.  It has continuously served the community without interruptions since 1706. 

 

The bandstand most likely is the center of many community events and weddings.

The covered walkways around the square provide protection from the sun and from rain.

We saw this colorful display of blankets and rugs in one store.

 Old Southwestern towns always seem to have walkways that draw us in to see what is available there.

 

As we left Old Town we saw this sign.  I think someone from England labeled this structure.

 

Albuquerque Visit

Albuquerque is an interesting and beautiful city, located in the middle of New Mexico.  We are spending a week here.  We have visited the area numerous times over the years we have been RVing but we still found a lot to do, places to revisit.

One day we walked through the bosque (trees) along the Rio Grande River.  We saw a lone cormorant sitting on a branch in the river.

I can't remember what this line of metal beams along the river is called but I think it has something to do with flooding.

There are huge cottonwood trees along the bank.

We saw people riding horses on the path.

Another day we walked out to the Petroglyph National Monument.  

There are something like 23,000 ancient petroglyphs there, as well others added by the Mexican sheep herders who were in the area before New Mexico became part of the U.S.  There are also examples of modern graffiti.  (I didn't take pictures of those 20th century additions.)

One day we drove into Old Town Albuquerque to see the shops in the oldest buildings constructed here.  I love this painting.  So colorful!

Many of the doors in the old buildings are attractive and brightly painted.

This door is a sign of the current economy and virus shutdown.  Even when we found shops open, we were the only customers in the store.  How sad for the owners.

The windows in some of the old adobe walls are interesting.

I will end this blog post with this quiet neighborhood in central Albuquerque.  Unfortunately, our country is not as serene as this scene.

Old Town Albuquerque

Old Town Albuquerque is a photographer's dream. So many interesting buildings and views. Originally established in 1706, the town celebrated its 300th anniversary 12 years ago. For the United States, that is really old. The entrance we went through is newly decorated but I don't know if the wall is a recent addition or part of the original settlement.

On one side of the town square we saw the church of San Felipe de Neri, the oldest New Mexico church still used for worship, one sign said.

This is the high altar in the church.

Buildings now housing shops and studios are arranged around small open areas.

This is an interesting front door.

And another one.

I'll bet this restaurant features strolling mariachi singers.

It might be difficult to read the electric meter at this house.

We didn't buy anything in the shops but we did enjoy walking around the area.  The last time we were in Old Town, we felt it was run down.  It seems to be in much better shape now.