Читать книгу Walking Albuquerque. 30 Tours of the Duke City's Historic Neighborhoods, Ditch Trails, Urban Nature, and Public Art онлайн

23 страница из 58

Hotel Parq Central

 Turn left on High St. Two blocks north is St. George Greek Orthodox Church, site of a hugely popular Grecian Festival that falls on the first week of October. Across the street is a private residence converted from the old Albuquerque Fire Station 2, which sounds like an incredibly fun place to live until you consider that it’s a single-story building, so it probably never had a fire pole.

 Turn right on Silver Ave. The Mary Strong House, on the corner of Elm St., was built in 1910 upon a foundation of cemented pebble stones native to the site. It’s hard to imagine now that the city once ended here at the foot of barren sandhills, the same escarpment that runs east of Edith Blvd. all the way up to Rattlesnake Mesa (visited on ssss1) and beyond.

 Turn left into Highland Park and follow the paved walkway to the top of the hill. The three-story log cabin there is the work of Charles Whittlesey, chief architect for the AT&SF Railway. His inspiration for the design was a Norwegian villa, which also influenced his design for the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon that same year. Whittlesey and his family lived in his dream home for a scant four years before his interest in peeled log cuts waned in favor of reinforced concrete. The cabin has a long and colorful history, though little is recorded about what happened within its walls from 1960 to 1966, when it served as a frat house. The building is plagued with paranormal activity, all of it harmless yet entirely inexplicable, even to jaded journalists who’ve witnessed the phenomena firsthand. Since 1973 it has been home to the Albuquerque Press Club. And like most press clubs, it’s private, but you can probably talk your way in. Be warned, however, that it’s not easy to leave the warm pub atmosphere once cozied up to the bar.