Walking Albuquerque. Stephen Ausherman
main plaza, each representing a governing entity that ruled here: Spain (1598–1821); Mexico (1821–1846); USA (1846–present); New Mexico (1912–present); and the Confederate States (1862) represented by the First Confederate National Flag (not the Stars and Bars).Somewhere within the Territorial-style souvenir shop ahead is a Queen Anne home known as the Henry Springer House. One of Albuquerque’s first German immigrants, Springer ran his hardware store into bankruptcy in the 1870s but later amassed a fortune in the saloon business. His house, built in 1890, is allegedly haunted by a harlot named Scarlett.
Turn left on S. Plaza St. and walk along the stuccoed façade of storefronts and restaurants. On your left, a plaque on the Old Town Gazebo explains the Skirmish of Albuquerque. On April 8–9, 1862, shortly after the Union victory at Glorieta Pass near Santa Fe, Union troops positioned in Barelas (Walk 3) exchanged cannon fire with Confederates positioned in Old Town. Often exaggerated as “The Battle of Albuquerque,” the skirmish ended when a group of concerned citizens asked Major Canby to stop lobbing cannonballs at Old Town.On the east side of the plaza are replicas of Mountain Howitzers, the smallest cannon used in the Civil War. As Confederate forces continued their retreat to Texas, Confederate artillery commander Major Trevanion T. Teel secretly buried eight cannon barrels to prevent their capture by pursuing Union forces. He returned in 1889 to reveal the location: A chile pepper patch 500 feet northeast of San Felipe de Neri Church. If Teel had kept his secret, they’d be beneath the Albuquerque Museum. Instead, two of the eight original cannons are on display there.Signage on the adobe complex ahead claims that Casa de Armijo was built in 1706, though it’s more likely that the earliest construction began in the 1820s. It’s a classic placita (little plaza), developed for defense against Navajo and Apache raiders. Ironically one of the resident ghosts wears a gown with elaborate Navajo beadwork. The red and black pattern is based on the whirling log symbol, which traditionally denotes abundance, prosperity, healing, and luck. Visitors unfamiliar with native iconography occasionally mistake it for a swastika and describe the Armijo apparition in some variation of “the Mexican Nazi girl.”
Continue straight down the zaguán (carriageway) to Patio Market. A branded board on the ceiling of the gateway seems to authenticate the property as belonging to Ambrosia Armijo. The fountain in this placita originally supplied the home with water. The buildings around you were the servants quarters for the Armijo Hacienda. Rooms were later converted into a schoolhouse, and later still into a boutique and photo gallery. Exit the patio on the east side.
Turn left and walk through Plaza Hacienda. This secluded plaza with an outdoor kiva fireplace previously served as a hot spot for romantic rendezvous and thus became colloquially known as Honeymoon Row. The buildings also used to be the stables for the Armijo Hacienda and the Blueher House, which stands to the immediate northwest of Plaza Hacienda. German immigrant Herman Blueher introduced draft horses to Albuquerque in the early 1900s. His house was intact as recently as 1950, but soon after was “pueblo-ized” for its conversion to La Hacienda Restaurant. However, from this vantage point behind the restaurant, traces of the original Italianate style are evident.
Steadfast Soldiers
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