2024 Mountain Road Arts Corridor Jane’s Walk
Jane’s Walks are held in hundreds of cities worldwide and are named after Jane Jacobs who was a pioneer in protecting urban neighborhoods. Her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, is credited with starting the urban revival movement. The volunteer-led walks are held on the first weekend of May to celebrate her birthday.
With most of Albuquerque developed after World War Two and built for driving, this walk is a refreshing alternative as it goes through a neighborhood that was meant to be walked.
The 2024 Mountain Road Arts Corridor Walk:
Our walk begins at the Julianna Kirwin Printmaking Studio at the NW corner of 8th and Mountain.
- Julianna’s house was once a grocery store
- Mountain Road was the route that connected Old Town to the mountains
- Rumor Pizza at the SE corner opened in 2022 and was once a gas station. The building has had several previous incarnations as a coffee shop and the like
- Stephan Watson is responsible for renovating several buildings, including Julianna’s studio, in the immediate area. Many of his renovated houses are decorated with tiles from his Santa Fe Tile company.
8th Street:
From Julianna’s house we’ll walk north on 8th Street and pass some of the houses renovated by Stephan Watson.
- As we walk north we’ll pass a variety of houses of different ages
- Three homes have been constructed in the past four years just on the west side of this one-block stretch of 8th
- Several other homes on this block have been recently renovated.
- The small house on the east side of 8th that is adjacent to the sidewalk was once a small shop
- Along the way almost every home will have very interesting landscaping, outdoor decoration, and other unique personalization.
- 100 years ago there was an acequia running along the wooden fence line between 1251 and 1253 8th Street. That former acequia is responsible for the stub end of 10th Street and several building lot lines with unusual angles.
- At 8th & Summer, check out the “Bedouin Have the Right of Way” sign on the utility pole at the SE corner
- The house on the north side of Summer with the blue wall in front of it (2 or 3 houses east of 8th) was once a small grocery store
- Just north of Summer on the east side of 8th, there is a light stand that changes its display with the Holiday season (the owner of the light display is also responsible for the Bedouin sign)
- The house at the SW corner of 8th & Kinley had been abandoned for three years before a new owners bought the house in early 2023 and completely renovated it into an almost brand new home.
- Across the street at the SE corner, if you poke around, you can see a couple of very good examples of innovative folk art decoration.
Kinley Street:
Turn Left onto Kinley. You may notice that the alley heads north from Kinley. At one time that alley also went south to Mountain. At Forrester, turn right. We’ll be jogging over to the continuation of Kinley.
- Just before turning back west on to Kinley, the house on the east side of Forrester has a great wooden gate with an image of the sun. (A photo of that gate was in the Journal’s article about our walks in 2022.)
- This portion of Kinley has the feeling of a country lane. The unusual routing may have been due to an old acequia route.
- There are several interesting homes along the way with great landscaping
- On the south side of the street there is a fantastic yard with an alien theme mailbox.
- As we get to the end of Kinley, there is a Descanso for a young man who died there several years ago. He was apparently a victim of a financial transaction gone bad.
- Several years ago, Kinley continued west to join Sawmill/Bellamah just east of 12th Street.
- You may notice a gate with a code activated lock on the north side of the street. It provides access to 11th Street for guests of Painted Lady Bed & Brew on Bellahmah.
We’ll now turn left onto 11th Street.
11th Street:
As we make the turn onto 11th, the house on the left has the 10 Commandments on its fence pillars.
- Again there is a nice mixture of homes on both sides of the street and even a home with chickens across the street
- Just before reaching Arias Avenue, there is a new home (built in the last couple of years) on the east side of 11th Street.
- It’s worth noting that there continues to be ongoing investment in the neighborhood to complement the houses already in place, and it’s this mixture of ages that contributes to making the neighborhood so interesting.
- We’ll continue south on 11th Street to Mountain Road. All along the way there will be wonderful houses and landscaping.
- If you check out the vacant lot on the east side of 11th Street at around 1200 11th Street, you’ll notice the lot line going off at an angle. An acequia (irrigation ditch) followed that line many decades ago.
Mountain Road:
When we reach Mountain Road, we’ll turn right and head west.
- Immediately at the corner of 11th Street and Mountain Road we’ll run into Golden Crown Panaderia. It is a popular hangout and a great part of the neighborhood.
- At 12th Street we’ll run into New Mexico Tea Company on the NE corner and Cocina Azul on the SE corner. They too are more than worth checking out.
- When we cross 12th, we’ll start running into several fantastic murals. There is the “A Z U L” mural by Noe Barnett on the south side of Cocina Azul’s parking area; west of the parking area is the amazing three-wall mural of Little Bird de Papel art studio by Andrew Fernside; next to the studio is the mosaic tile of ALMA Mosaic Collective (ALMA is responsible for many of the mosaic art decorations throughout the city); and finally on the west facing wall is the is mural of an amazing pair of eyes watching you walk by.
- We’ll keep walking west until we reach 14th Street. On our right, on the north side of the street, is the eclectic art shop Next Best Thing to Being There. It too is decorated with a fantastic mural by Denise Weaver Ross.
14th Street:
When we reach 14th Street, we’ll turn left and head south on 14th Street and pass the religious community of Villa Mathias.
- Villa Mathias is a religious community of the Brothers of Saint John of God. The community occupies the entire block between Brother Mathias (13th Street) and 14th Street. They manage the Good Shepherd Homeless Centerat 2nd and Iron Streets south of Downtown. Brother Mathias Barrett, who founded Good Shepherd in 1951, is buried at Villa Mathias. If the gate is open, you can walk inside and check out the small chapel where Brother Mathias is buried.
- We’ll continue south on 14th and cross Granite.
- The historic home at the SW corner of 14th and Granite was once the home Gertrude Zachery (before she built her French chateau in downtown). The newer mid-century modern style houses on the west side of the street were once her garden.
- At the south end of the mid-century modern homes, there is an alley on the east side of the street running east to 13th If you walk in two or three houses into the alley, you’ll see a whimsical mural of two Jackalopes Dancing in Front of a Full Moon on the south side of the alley.
- The sidewalk on the east side of the 14th Street will end, but we’ll continue south to Marble.
Marble Avenue:
We’ll turn left on Marble and start heading east back toward 11th Street. Again this is a residential street with a variety of interesting homes. The houses on the west side of the street are almost on top of the sidewalk.
- One of them, at 1317 Marble has a great mustard yellow color and is decorated with a Frieda Kahlo tile.
- Immediately east of 1317 at 1313 Marble is a mural depicting several people who make-up New Mexico history.
- Immediately east of 1313 are more wonderful houses.
- When you reach 13th Street, check out the house at the SE corner of 13th and Marble. It has a brand new mosaic mural of birds on its top level (facing 13th Street). The entire top level is completely enclosed with a screen. (My guess is that it was enclosed to allow birds to fly around on the inside of the deck.)
- We’ll continue east on Marble and will need to cross 12th Street (watch for traffic) to continue on to 11th
- Marble ends at 11th Street.
11th Street:
We’ll turn right (south) on 11th Street and almost immediately run into Manzano Court on the east side of 11th.
- Manzano Court is a small collection of houses with a distinct parkway built in a former orchard (Manzano – apple tree) during the 1920s. It is now a designated historic landmark. (Notice the property pillars designating the northern and southern limits of the development.)
- We’ll continue south to Orchard Place. Before turning left on Orchard, you’ll notice Lowe’s Grocery Store just to the south and west. Having a grocery store of this size and nearby is a huge contribution to the walkability of the neighborhood.
Orchard Place:
We’ll head east on Orchard.
- 1021 Orchard on the north side of the street (the house without a sidewalk) was once the home of Erna Fergusson. She was the granddaughter of Franz Huning and an accomplished entrepreneur and well-known author when she lived in the neighborhood almost a century ago. The public library branch on San Mateo Boulevard is named after her.
- The house immediately to the east of the Fergusson House was renovated in the past year and even has a great Free Little Library.
- The mural at the end of Orchard, where it makes a jog to the right to Slate, was painted just a little over two years ago.
- We’ll make the jog to Slate to reach Forrester. Before turning left on to Slate, you might notice the backs of several houses facing Luna Circle and Lomas to the south. The houses are now offices for several professional services.
Forrester Avenue:
We’ll be turning left on Forrester to head north. Forrester is a very special street with many wonderful homes and front yards.
- Forrester is the place to be on Halloween. Its famous Halloween Trick or Treat block party attracts people from all over Albuquerque. Both Forrester and 8th Street (to the east) are blocked off by bales of hay, and the street is filled from curb to curb with trick or treaters. It is absolutely worth coming back on Halloween to check out.
- Every house along the street has something worthwhile to check out. It is clearly one of the best streets for walking in Albuquerque.
- If you’re a Breaking Bad aficionado, you’ll want to pay attention to the front porch at 1011 Forrester on the west side of the street. This is where Todd shot Andrea to punish Jesse for trying to run away.
- Several other movies have also been shot on this street.
When we reach Mountain Road (across the street from Slow Burn), we’ll turn right and head east to 8th Street. (This is a good place to bailout, if you’ve had enough.)
Mountain Road:
- As you walk along Mountain you may notice the History of the Neighborhood banners hanging from the lamp posts. The banners are the brainchild of Julianna Kirwin. They illustrate various aspects of the Wells Park neighborhood. There are splash codes on the lamp posts explaining the story behind its banner.
- Slow Burn Coffeeat the NE corner of Mountain and Forrester opened in October 2020 and has been popular since day one. It is an excellent example of how a commercial space can enhance the walkability and quality of a predominantly residential neighborhood. The building has had previous stints as a grocery store, architect’s studio, performance space, and other retail activity.
- Almost immediately east of Slow Burn at 815 Mountain, is the historic With House (pronounced “Wit”). It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, home in the area.
- On the south side of Mountain, directly across from Julianna Kirwin’s studio is the brand new 806 Studio. It is open a few days every month and features the art of Angus Macpherson.
If you have had enough, this is a good place to end your walk as we are now back at Julianna’s studio where we started. But if you want to check out something very special, continue east on Mountain to 7th Street.
- The Harwood Art Center is on the east side of 7th It features art studios and has many art exhibits. There is also plenty of art inside and outside of the building.
- At the SE corner of 7th and Mountain, is The Poet’s Plaza. It was created by Cassandra Reid in 2005 and funded by city’s public arts program. Each ceramic tile covered bench has a poem on its front side. There may be no better place in Albuquerque to sit down and take a contemplative pause.
From here, you can return to the starting point at the Julianna Kirwin Studio, or continue wandering through the neighborhood. So far, you’ve only had a taste of what you can discover in the Wells Park/Mountain Road area.