u The KiMo Theater in downtown Albuquerque, with its extravagant art deco–Pueblo revival architecture, offers theatrical performances, movies, and concerts in a landmark building.
to-suburban sprawl, like many of the country’s other cities did in the 1960s and 1970s, fewer people lived in and visited the downtown. By the late 1970s, the KiMo fell into deep disre- pair, and was slated for demolition. Luckily, the city fathers had the wisdom to save the historic building, and now the KiMo is operated by the local government. Today the KiMo is the venue for film festivals and local, national, and international acts. On an evening of a performance, the lights of the wraparound marquee and the big KiMo sign shine over the street, and as folks line up at the entrance to the building, it is not difficult to imagine this theater as it must have been decades ago: a premier place for Albuquerque’s entertainment.
Central Avenue comes alive in the evenings with its restaurants and
T H E E L K S M A G A Z I N E
clubs in the Nob Hill District, near the University of New Mexico. Here, cafés and other eating establishments vie for the student dollar, making it the area where you can find the most diverse offerings in the culinary arts. Farther east still are the Sandia Mountains (“Watermelon Mountains”), growing pinker as evening settles. There are hiking and climbing trails with resplendent views of the city below and the mountains and canyons beyond. While Albuquerque enjoys a reasonable climate with dry, hot weather in the summer and lots of sunshine and usually comfortable temperatures in the colder months, it isn’t unusual for the mountaintops above the city to be white with snow during the winter.
The Sandia Peak is a popular winter sports area, with slopes and trails designed for all levels of skiers
and snowboarders. You can get there by driving the lovely Crest Scenic Byway, or perhaps better still (espe- cially if there are icy road conditions) by taking the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway. The tram carries you over ten thousand feet high to an observa- tion deck at the mountain’s peak. You are in the Cibola National Forest up here, so things are green and the wind is stronger and cooler than down in the city.
The panorama here is magnificent, covering eleven thousand square miles of New Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley. The city twinkles beneath you in the dusk, and once again, you have a bird’s-eye view of the desert, the mountains, the river and valley. And now, surrounded by beauty, you savor all that you have learned while exploring the unique byways of this fascinating place of many cultures. ■
57
PHOTO: PHILIP HARTIGAN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80