Something that was talked about during yesterday's ADC meeting was the history of the empty lot at 1st and Silver and what used to be there. They mentioned the old efforts and agreement with Romero Rose about 15 years ago to develop the lot after the Historic District Improvement Company failed to do so under the original Entertainment District buildout and redevelopment push In the early 2000s where the Theater Block and 100 Gold and it's adjoining parking structure were developed.
The old Greyhound bus station was mentioned as something which occupied the lot up until about that time before the Alvarado Transportation Center was built to replace it and which incorporated ABQ Ride city buses, the Rail Runner and eventually Amtrak trains as well. The old bus station was originally built in the mid-1970s after the wholesale destruction of most of the blocks along 1st, 2nd and 3rd streets from about Marquette Avenue down to Coal Avenue for Urban Renewal purposes.
The most significant building that originally sat on the actual spot at 1st and Silver where Sendero ABQ is proposed was the Savoy Hotel. I'm not sure when exactly it was built or when exactly it was torn down. Below are a few pictures showing the old hotel structure, which apparently was also called the Bowery Hotel in about the 1960s. It had a unique vibe and style that sort of brings to mind San Francisco with all the bay windows but also even New Orleans with the wrought iron balcony. It looks like it even managed to incorporate a bit of local vernacular in some of its details at the entrance right on the corner of 1st and Silver. A very unique building that I wish was still around!
In that last pic above you can also see the old YMCA structure in the distance on Central Avenue. It's an awesome view in color of yet another great old building that I wish was still around! We truly lost some gems in Albuquerque during this timeframe of Urban Renewal from the 1950s stretching into the 1980s, but especially in the 1970s.
Unfortunately, as we all know, the renewal never really materialized and we were left with parking lots and empty lots for several decades. Only in the early 2000s did things start turning around and these empty and underused lots begin to be redeveloped and built upon.
Below are a couple of views showing the empty lots and a pic of the bus station that was built after all the destruction in this area.
Here's a more current pic with a similar view as the above old postcard from the 1970s. You can see how much has been added and changed, but also how much we still have to go, especially south of Lead and Coal getting into Barelas, and in the area immediately south of the convention center.
Here's a pic that shows this area of Downtown Albuquerque southwest of Central Avenue and the railroad tracks which the city focused on redeveloping beginning in the early 2000s. We're almost done filling it in again with new structures. If the Sendero ABQ project comes to fruition it will fill one of the last big holes in the area and would be the last of the city-owned lots in the area to get redeveloped.
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