Nob Hill Business Center

Nob Hill Business Center is a historic shopping center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Built in 1946–7, it was the first modern suburban shopping center in New Mexico, and its construction marked a shift away from pedestrian-oriented development in Albuquerque in favor of decentralized, auto-oriented sprawl.[3] Located on Central Avenue (former U.S. Route 66) at Carlisle Boulevard, the building is the focal point of the Nob Hill district.

Nob Hill Business Center
Nob Hill Business Center, 2010
Nob Hill Business Center is located in New Mexico
Nob Hill Business Center
Nob Hill Business Center is located in the United States
Nob Hill Business Center
Location3500 Central Avenue SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Coordinates35°4′46″N 106°36′19″W
Built1947
ArchitectLouis Hesselden
Architectural styleStreamline Moderne, Territorial Revival
NRHP reference No.84004143[1]
NMSRCP No.991
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 18, 1994
Designated NMSRCPDecember 16, 1983[2]

The shopping center was developed by Robert Waggoman on what was then the eastern fringe of the city, more than two miles from the downtown commercial district. Local commentators dubbed the project "Waggoman's Folly" because it was so far from the center of town, but the shopping center turned out to be a major success and served as a model for future commercial development in Albuquerque.[4] The building was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties[5] in 1983 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.[1]

Nob Hill Business Center is a one-story, U-shaped building with an interior parking lot facing Central Avenue. The building was designed by Louis Hesselden in a predominantly Streamline Moderne style with rounded corners, decorative towers, and white stucco walls with horizontal bands of terra cotta tile and brick.[3] Some of the architectural features are also reminiscent of the local Territorial Revival style.[6]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "New Mexico State and National Registers". New Mexico Historic Preservation Commission. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  3. "Nob Hill Shopping Center". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  4. Lazell, Carleen; Payne, Melissa (2007). Historic Albuquerque: An Illustrated History. HPN Books. p. 62. ISBN 978-1893619753.
  5. "Properties by County" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  6. Secord, Paul R. (2012). Albuquerque Deco and Pueblo. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 978-0738595269.
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