ABQ: Winter Garden

ALBUQUERQUE

Sasebo Japanese Garden at the BioPark


City of ABQ:

Built in honor of Sasebo, one of Albuquerque's Sister Cities, the four-acre Sasebo Japanese Garden hosts a majestic waterfall, an elegant koi pond and a mixture of Japanese and local plants. Stone lanterns and pagoda sculptures dot the grounds and stone and wooden bridges straddle small streams.
Upon entering the garden, you'll walk past the large bell tower, through huge wooden gates, and along immaculately manicured paths. You'll be surrounded by traditional Japanese plants, along with native New Mexican trees pruned and sculpted in the Japanese aesthetic.

Noted landscape architect Toru Tanaka, founder of Portland Landscape Design and Japanese Garden Speciality, designed Albuquerque's garden which opened in September, 2007.
Just inside the gates and to the right, visitors will find the Japanese Garden's newest feature, a 'garden-within-a-garden' designed by five members of the Ogata Kai organization of Japanese landscape architects. The five architects, trained under the late Kenzo Ogata, created this beautiful garden in just four days (September 14-17, 2009).

Sasebo Garden is included with general admission to the Botanic Garden.
Docent-led Garden Tours are offered on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

ABQ: Solstice

ALBUQUERQUE

Winter Solstice


“I stood transfixed, the silence ringing in my ears. From the field of wild grasses; cocksfoot, tufted hair, wild oat, tall fescue, reed canary and perennial rye, their subtle shades of green, ochre and pink softly patching and blending in rustling movement, suddenly rose a small flock of starlings that had been feeding quietly unseen among the tall waving stems, the swish of their glossy wings startlingly loud in the stillness of midday. Heat held me captive.”
― Nell Grey

ABQ: Winter at BioPark

 

 

ALBUQUERQUE

 

Winter at the BioPark

 

 

“Is it snowing where you are? All the world that I see from my tower is draped in white and the flakes are coming down as big as pop-corns. It's late afternoon - the sun is just setting (a cold yellow colour) behind some colder violet hills, and I am up in my window seat using the last light to write to you.”
― Jean Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs

 

 



ABQ: Postcard 1950

ALBUQUERQUE

Postcard 1950


Central Ave., Route 66, in Downtown Albuquerque. The Kress sign still remains. The KIMO recently erected a new sign that is similar to the one in the postcard.

At the time of this postcard, Downtown was still the center for shopping in the city. In another decade that would change as many of the department stores left Downtown to locate in new shopping malls in the NE Heights, like Winrock Mall. They featured plenty of parking near the new housing subdivisions being built.

The abandonment of Downtown had started earlier, however, when autos allowed people to move to new neighborhoods, like areas around the university. One of the earliest auto strip malls was Nob Hill.



Winrock Mall:

In 1961, Winrock Shopping center was completed as a joint venture between soon-to-be Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller and the University of New Mexico on a sandy lot at the edge of I-40. The development included a covered shopping center (the first for Albuquerque and New Mexico) with Safeway, J.C. Penney, Fedway and Montgomery Ward. A freestanding movie theater and attached motor hotel opened in 1963.

The mall was built as an outdoor shopping hub with a screened canopy roof above the main stretch of the mall and acres of parking on all sides. This design allowed for a pleasant shopping experience in the dry summer heat as well as the cold high-desert winters. The 82 acre mall site was bounded by the busy I-40 freeway to the south, with off-ramps to Louisiana Boulevard to the west.

ABQ: Bridge in Garden

ALBUQUERQUE

Bridge in the Japanese Garden at the ABQ BioPark


“Between death and hell a bridge shining silver wings offers his soul hope.”
― Aberjhani, The River of Winged Dreams

ABQ: Holidays

ALBUQUERQUE

Holidays

The ABQ Visitors & Convention Bureau website has a list of holiday events around town.


Some notable events include:

Luminarias

The holiday season in Albuquerque means Luminarias. Luminarias are a simple brown paper bag, partially filled with sand to make it stable and a single votive candle to illuminate the simple lunch bag. Several of these together create a beautiful ambiance welcoming guests into your home for a holiday party or celebration. A fun way to experience a little bit of Albuquerque’s holiday traditions is to create luminarias to line your driveways, sidewalks and maybe even your roof at home.

The annual Old Town Luminaria Tour on December 24th is not to be missed.

Watch our special two minute holiday video about Luminarias, "Life of a Brown Paper Bag."

Native American Dancing and Pueblo Feast Days

Visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on weekends and enjoy Native American dancing and art demonstrations, you can also take part in baking bread and making art. The holidays are a wonderful time to visit the neighboring pueblos, many of them hold feast day celebrations in November and December. View more information and see the schedule here.  

Shopping

Albuquerque has the biggest and best shopping in the entire state with three premier malls and many special shopping areas and specialty stores. Whether you have been to Albuquerque or not, there is something for everyone from traditional Southwestern jewelry and pottery to contemporary designs of paintings, sculpture and more.

Stroll through two of Albuquerque’s historic neighborhoods and shop in unique local shops on two consecutive days.

• The Nob Hill Shop & Stroll on Saturday, December 1 begins with the Twinkle Light Parade and includes shopping and food specials, family entertainment, and photos with Santa.
• The Old Town Stroll on Friday, December 7 features live entertainment, dancers, family activities, Santa Claus and the lighting of the giant Christmas tree at Plaza Don Luis.

Check out 10 great local holiday gifts.

ABQ: Holiday Windows

ALBUQUERQUE

Holiday Windows


Getting ready for Christmas. Decorations in the Peoples Flower Shop windows on Central Ave. (Route 66) in Downtown ABQ.

In the background on the right is the KIMO theater sign.