By Dianne Edwards

You don’t have to go far from home to explore new territory. Where four neighborhoods meet – Old Town, Downtown, Sawmill, and Wells Park – the interaction of old and new energies bursts with activity and adventure awaits along Mountain Road, best known as home to Albuquerque’s major museums.

It’s one of the oldest roads in the city, originally named Carnuel Road, and not much had changed through the decades, until four years ago. Now, however, the laid-back charm of an earlier era comes gift-wrapped in modernity.

Sean Gilligan of SG Properties is responsible for much of the new: the renovation of the Sunshine Café, the historic laundromat and the completely new condominiums and retail spaces at Mountain and 12th Street.

All the building and renovation activity on Mountain Road has led Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez to include this area in his “string of pearls” that loops through the Nature Center, the Biopark, Tingley Beach, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Downtown and Old Town.

Carrying on an old tradition, new stores along Mountain Road remain family-owned. You won’t find a single chain or franchise store.

So for a fresh adventure, get in a car or hop on a bus or bicycle and head over to Mountain Road. Once you’re there, everything is within walking distance.

Tiguex Park
Tiguex Park underwent a major renovation last year, in time for the city’s Tricentennial celebration. It anchors the area with a soccer field, basketball courts, a children’s playground and a circumambulating path for dogwalkers, cyclists, Segway riders, rollerbladers and relaxed strollers.

Tiguex Park. Photo by Dianne Edwards

The Museums
They’re clustered along the north and west sides of Tiguex Park.

To the west of the park, a complete redesign has given the Albuquerque Museum a fresh and pleasing new presence. Take a walk through the gorgeous forged-iron gates on the museum’s south side, where outdoor concerts are performed every Friday night during the summer, and follow the path around the west side of the building to find an extraordinary tilework wall and a sidewalk that leads into Old Town.

The Albuquerque Museum also has fabulous sculpture gardens on its east and south sides – and don’t miss the almost-hidden Native American garden just behind the huge eye-catching tribute to the conquistadors.

To the north of the park, discover Explora (the great place to take children any day except Monday), the National Atomic Museum (soon to be officially known as the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History) and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, which has Spike and Alberta – enormous bronze dinosaurs – standing friendly guard at the entrance.

Restaurants
The Sunshine Café opened in July. It occupies the completely renovated former Sunshine Market building on the southeast corner of Mountain and 12th Street. The pressed tin ceiling is still there, and some of the old wood beams now serve as fresh produce stands. Massively reinforced adobe walls and double-pane glass windows shut out traffic noise from this spare and elegant space.

Owner Marilyn Keller, her daughter Keller McKenzie and Chef Scott Downs offer a menu of fresh roasted meats, made-from-scratch salad dressings, breads and desserts, plus local wine and imported beer. Looking for a place to have afternoon tea? Pots of tea and fresh-baked pastries are brought to your table without fanfare. And they have a kid’s menu for those toting along little ones after museum and park visits.

No need for reservations. Blue-plate specials are offered after 4:30 PM. Open every day from 7AM to 8 PM, but closes at 2 PM Sundays

Caffè Michaelangelo, where Tomàs Watson offers French pastries and darkly rich brews of locally roasted Moon’s coffee, is located farther east, at Mountain and 8th Street. With its outdoor espresso and tea bar, it occupies a very new/very old former tiny gas station. In fact, it was Albuquerque’s first gas station. (7 AM-1:30 PM, M-F; 7 AM-12 PM, Sat.; closed Sun.)

Art Galleries and Shops
The Harwood Art Center, at Mountain and 7th Street, started in 1991 as an alternative venue for local artists to create and exhibit their work. It features jewelry-making, ceramics, pastel, acrylic and oil painting, printmaking and outdoor landscape classes including children’s classes. The four Harwood galleries feature local, regional and national artists on a monthly basis. It’s a fabulous place to find new and emerging artists (www.harwoodartcenter.org).

Angus Macpherson, fine artist, is the owner of MoRo Gallery at Mountain and 8th Street. He was at the forefront of Mountain Road’s new wave. He renovated his building four years ago and shows his own paintings as well as those of five other artists and guest artists. (12-5 PM, Wed.-Fri; 11 AM-4 PM, Sat.; www.MoRoArt.com.)

The new FHAB Gallery, on the northeast corner of Mountain and 12th Street, opened in June and features paintings, sculpture and furniture. Gallery owner Nick Harmon and his staff are happy to talk about art with anyone who stops in. 11 AM- 3PM, Wed.-Sat or by appointment.

Also on the northeast corner of Mountain and 12th, New Mexico Tea Company’s owner, David Edwards, not only brings teas from around the world into one location but also offers handmade soaps from Taos, paintings by local artists, unique teapots, Japanese incense, saggar-fired incense bowls made in Carrizozo, free tea tastings and classes with a Chinese tea master. 10 AM-6 PM, every day; www.nmteaco.com.

Mita Saldana continues to offer bookbinding by hand as she has for the past seven years at Against the Grain, just west of the Mountain and 12th Street. Stop in for a look at her massive antique bookbinding equipment. 12-6 PM, M-F, or by appointment. (505) 248-0206 or www.atgbooks.com.

Aquila Stanley opened Our Summer House just last month, at Mountain and Forrester. The store features museum-quality handcrafted jewelry, home and garden decor, ceramics, glassware, framed art, limited edition prints, hooked pillows and rugs, French soaps, Italian-style garden urns and many more fine gifts. (505) 341-3641. 10 AM-5PM, Tues.-Sat. (www.oursummerhouse.com).

Dianne Edwards, an Albuquerque freelance writer, can be contacted at

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