Mid-Mod ABQ: A Driving Tour
Modernist-style houses can be found dotted around almost every neighborhood in Albuquerque. The city in general is worth a rambling drive. The Northeast Heights is a particularly dense area owing to the rapid development of this part of the city in the 1950s and 60s. Developers like Mossman-Gladden and Dale Bellemah built entire neighborhoods of modernist-styled tract homes to meet the demands of the post-war population boom. These neighborhoods are worth driving through to discover the few well-preserved and interesting examples of the rapid development from this era. However, this driving tour will focus on the neighborhoods with more unique examples of midcentury architecture in Albuquerque. Most of these neighborhoods feature architecturally designed one-offs, custom builds, or entire streets developed by architect/builder collaborations.
This tour has been designed to flow in an order from west to east for ease, assuming you are starting in the central part of the city (Old Town/Downtown/Nob Hill areas).
The Tour provides suggested driving routes through Netherwood Park, Altura Park, La Sala Grande, and Four Hills Village.
A Note Before You Drive
This tour is designed to guide you through the character and history of these remarkable neighborhoods, offering a glimpse into Albuquerque’s mid-century modern legacy. It does not include specific addresses or private details about the homes featured. Please remember that these residences are privately owned and not affiliated with this tour. We kindly ask that you admire the architecture from the street and respect the privacy of those who live here—no trespassing or disturbances of any kind. Let’s keep this a respectful and inspiring experience for everyone.
Netherwood Park
The creation of Ada and Edwin Netherwood, this area was parceled out of the East Mesa in 1912 as a suburb to the downtown core of Albuquerque. Development started soon after with the intention of making a working class neighborhood for the recent influx of workers supporting the railroad industry. The plan never came to fruition with only a small amount of homes being built. Eventually, lots were sold off throughout the 1950s and 60s. With its proximity to the UNM campus it was a popular choice for staff and professors among other local professionals for the construction of their custom homes. Design styles range from pre-war bungalows to architecturally built mid-century ranch houses.
START HERE
We will start the tour off light. Netherwood Park is an older neighborhood with a few nice examples of midcentury modern design. The center of the neighborhood, and a good place to start, is Netherwood Park itself at 2613 Morrow Rd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106. The majority of the midcentury homes in this neighborhood surround the park, but a drive through the rest of the neighborhood will reveal a few other examples. No specific directions on this one, we just recommend a drive around the park.
Altura Park
The city annexed the land for the Altura Addition in 1950, and building permits were issued soon after. The first several years saw the development of tract houses on the neighborhood’s west side. By the mid-1950s, larger ranch houses and custom homes were popping up. Famed developer Mossman-Gladden created a subsidiary, Altura Corp, focused on selling lots in the southeast section of the neighborhood and offering their services as builders.
Altura Park features several of Max Chavez’s custom-carved doors. If you are interested in learning more, click here
Google Maps Route Link Here. Once open, click the little navigation buoy at the beginning of the route to get driving directions to the start.
Recommended Route
Start by heading south on Morningside Dr NE from Indian School Rd.
Just a short drive in, keep an eye out for a home on the right designed by UNM architecture professor Don Schlegel in the late 1950s. He created it for one of his colleagues.
Continue south on Morningside until you reach Aspen Ave (southwest corner of the park). Make a left, then your first right onto Avenida Manana.
Head south on Avenida Manana, then weave your way through Royene Ave NE, Chinlee Ave NE, and Altura Ave NE.
Royene, Chinlee, and Altura Aves were owned and parceled by Mossman-Gladden’s Altura Corporation project. They sold the land to prospective homebuilders and offered their design services if the buyer desired.
TV buffs might recognize one house on Altura Ave, which appeared on Better Call Saul.
La Sala Grande
The sale of lots in this neighborhood began in the 1950s, with most of the development taking place in the 1960s. Its curving streets contain a mixture of midcentury modern houses and custom upscale builds. Several of Albuquerque’s architects and builders chose the La Sala Grande neighborhood for the construction of their personal homes.
We recommend starting the tour of this neighborhood by driving eastbound on Aztec Rd just off of Wyoming Blvd. The majority of this street was designed by local architect Hildreth Barker and constructed by developer Marilynn Jaschke through her company, Homes by Marilynn (Confirm info and name). One of the houses on this block was designed by Barker for his personal residence.
Google Maps Route Link Here. Once open, click the little navigation buoy at the beginning of the route to get driving directions to the start.
🧭Driving Route:
START: Begin at the intersection of Wyoming Blvd and Aztec Rd NE. Head east on Aztec Rd.
This first stretch of Aztec Rd was largely designed by local architect Hildreth Barker and developed by Marilynn Jaschke through her company, Homes by Marilynn. Barker even designed one of the homes here for himself.
🚗Next Turns
Turn left on General Stilwell Dr NE. This street guides you directly into the heart of the La Sala Grande development.
When General Stilwell ends at a T-intersection, you’ve arrived at La Sala Del Sur, the central loop of the neighborhood.
Woven through this block are a mix of upscale custom homes created through a collaboration by architect Ivor Williams and builder Marilynn Jaschke.
From here, drive the loop, beginning with:
Right on La Sala Del Sur
Continue to La Sala Del Este, where you’ll find Marilynn Jaschke’s personal residence.
Follow the loop through La Sala Del Norte and La Sala Del Oeste.
Optionally, take La Sala Del Centro, which runs through the middle and reconnects with the loop.
Additionally, home developer Stu Hill had his residence, personally designed, on the northwest corner across from La Palomita Park.
Four Hills
Four Hills was born from a conversation on an Albuquerque golf course in 1955. Tired of playing on the only course in the city, real estate developers Bill Brannin, Harry Driver, and Marshal Wylie asked why they couldn’t create their own club. In 1957, ground was broken in a remote southeast section of Albuquerque, a project born from this idea. Brannin, under the newly formed Four Hills Development Co., acquired the land from three separate cattle ranchers who had been homesteading there for several decades (full story here). The country club and course were the first to be constructed. As the club neared completion in 1958, Four Hills Development Co. began preparing land parcels for sale to developers and the general public. These first lots surrounded the golf course, with a few also being prepared just north along the main road into the neighborhood. In the first several years, stipulations were placed on the sale of the lots, requiring a home to be constructed with a minimum square footage. This was overseen by what they referred to as the architectural control committee. Eventually, this restriction was relaxed, and builders or individuals could build as they pleased. Brannin’s original plan for Four Hills was 400 parcels, then to eventually expand to 1100. Over the next several decades, this dream came to fruition. Architects, developers, and individual families bought land and built out further, expanding Four Hills Village into what it is today. Most of the growth took place between the 1960s and the 1980s, but home construction is still taking place today on the few remaining lots.
Four Hills features several of Max Chavez’s custom-carved doors. If interested in learning more, click here
Google Maps Route Here. Once open, click the little navigation buoy at the beginning of the route to get driving directions to the start.
🧭 Driving Route:
START: Enter Four Hills Village via Four Hills Road.
🏡 1. Lamp Post Circle & Running Water Circle
From Four Hills Rd, At the Y-intersection, veer right onto Stagecoach Rd.
Take your First left onto Lamp Post Circle. Loop around, rejoin Stagecoach and make a left.
Next left onto Running Water Circle. Another early loop of mid-century homes.
⟶ Both of these streets feature some of the first houses in Four Hills
🌲 2. Wagon Train Drive
Make a left back onto Stagecoach, continuing through the two stop signs around the bend—Stagecoach becomes Wagon Train Dr.
Left side: Homes from the late 1950s/early ‘60s lining the golf course.
Right side: Built in the late '60s with many of the designs being drafted by architect Ivor Williams.
🏘️ 3. Cuatro Cerros (with Bonus Loop)
Continue down Wagon Train to the stop sign with Cuatro Cerros Trail and make a left.
Optional: First left onto Toro St., explore this street and its side streets Ganado Ct. and Oveja Ct.
Toro will loop you back to Wagon Train. Make a left and another left again on Cuatro Cerros and you are back where you started.
Continue uphill on Cuatro Cerros
This street curves into Sagebrush Trail, bearing left along the golf course.
Follow Sagebrush Trail through its turns until it joins at a T-intersection with Stagecoach Rd.
🏛️ 4. Stagecoach Rd (Also with Bonus Loop)
Take a left on Stagecoach Rd and continue north as the road bends left westward.
Optional: First left onto Stagecoach Ln.
⟶ First house on the right: Designed by a Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice.
⟶ Second house on the right: First home built in Four Hills—for investor Harry Driver.At the next stop sign take a left on to Sagebursh Trail then another left to return to Stagecoach Rd back where you were.
🌀 5. The Labyrinth: Warm Sands, Martingale, and Maverick
From Stagecoach Rd make a right onto Warm Sands Dr., follow until it bends west.
Left on Martingale Ln, then right back to Stagecoach Rd.
Next right onto Maverick Trail.
Loop through: Left on Warm Sands Dr., then left on Warm Sand Trail.
At the end, right on Maverick, then right again onto Stagecoach Rd.
🏁 TO EXIT:
Continue on Stagecoach Rd until it leads you out of the neighborhood.
✨ Optional Add-On:
For photos, articles, and a deeper look at the architectural context of this neighborhood's history, click here