History · Albuquerque

Albuquerque has 137 places on the National Register

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #4 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it

Dated to 1706 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history), with 3% of its homes built before 1940 and 19 historic districts holding 3,537 contributing buildings. Most of Albuquerque was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and every listing on the Register.

1706founded

137on the National Register

3%homes built before 1940

2old photos & papers

51famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Albuquerque’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Albuquerque began

When was Albuquerque founded?

1706

Albuquerque dates its founding to 1706 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). Its post office opened in 1851.

2020 census: 564,559320 years

How historic is Albuquerque?

A⁻

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Albuquerque’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Albuquerque is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #4 of 73 in New Mexico. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Albuquerque’s overall grade.

Founding era1706, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA⁺Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±0.3) · typical NM town 2.3% · U.S. 8.4%C⁻National Register137 listings, 3,537 historic buildings, 62.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NM town 2.2 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%

NewerOlder

New Mexico towns of 2,500+ (73)Ahead of 96%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Albuquerque ranks #108 on History.

New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Albuquerque’s 62.9 sits above most of its state (89% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 3,537 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Albuquerque’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1706.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Albuquerque’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark137 places on the National Register, including Ernie Pyle House, a National Historic Landmark.A historic districtThe Monte Vista and College View Historic District takes in 702 historic buildings.Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Albuquerque, and 18 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

137 listings protect 3,537 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

137

National Historic Landmark

Ernie Pyle House

historic buildings protected

3,537

each building in a district counts

first listed

1969

San Felipe de Neri Church

BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructuresObjects★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Spanish-Pueblo Revival9

Southwest Vernacular9

Queen Anne8

Pueblo Revival6

Moderne6

Mediterranean5

★ Landmark

Ernie Pyle HouseModern Movement (Ranch Style) · Built 1940

San Felipe de Neri ChurchBuilt 1793

Salvador Armijo HouseBuilding

First Methodist Episcopal ChurchVictorian · Built 1904

Kimo TheaterBuilt 1927

Berthold Spitz HousePrairie School

Superintendent's House, Atlantic & Pacific RailroadVictorian

Hodgin HallRichardsonian Romanesque

All 137 listings

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Albuquerque’s post office has been open since 1851. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Albuquerque

1851–today

La Cuesta

1873–1873

Montezuma

1879–1880

New Albuquerque

1881–1882

Old Albuquerque

1886–1954

Griegos

1903–1913

18501940today

Hamlets and corners on the map

BarelasBuena VenturaCañada VillageChelwood ParkHoffmantownKirtland AdditionLa CuestaLee AcresLos CandelariasLos DuranesLos GriegosMartinez TownMesa VillageOld TownSan JoseSandia VistaTaylor RanchVista Encantada

Gone or out of use

Alameda AirportairportCoronado AirportairportEfren and Sons PitmineFour Hills RanchlocaleIsletamineJames Monroe Middle SchoolschoolKirtland AFB West LibrarybuildingLa Cuesta Post Officepost officeLos Griegos Post Officepost officeLovelace ClinichospitalMemorial Psychiatric HospitalhospitalMorris PitmineNazareth HospitallocaleNew Albuquerque Post Officepost officeNew Sedillo PitmineNorth Edith PitmineOld Albuquerque Post Officepost officeOld Town Schoolschool

8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Albuquerque

Fairview Memorial ParkGate of Heaven CatholicMount CalvarySan CarlosSan JoseSandia Memory GardensSanta BarbaraSunset Memorial Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Albuquerque came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Albuquerque.

Read it all →

Petroglyphs carved into basalt in the western part of the city bear testimony to a Native American presence in the area dating back many centuries. These are preserved in the Petroglyph National Monument.

The Tanoan and Keresan peoples had lived along the Rio Grande for centuries before European colonists arrived in the area that developed as Albuquerque. By the 1500s, there were around 20 Tiwa pueblos along a 60-mile (97 km) stretch of river from present-day Algodones to the Rio Puerco confluence south of Belen. Of these, 12 or 13 were densely clustered near present-day Bernalillo, and the remainder were spread out to the south.

ChaptersPre-colonial history Colony of New Spain and Old Mexico Years Incorporation into the US 20th Century and Present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Albuquerque, 1706 to 2006

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

18th century
1706
FoundingAlbuquerque is established
1793BuiltSan Felipe de Neri Church is built
19th century
1851Post officeThe Albuquerque post office opens
1873Post officeThe La Cuesta post office opens
1873Post officeThe La Cuesta post office closes
1879Post officeThe Montezuma post office opens
1880Post officeThe Montezuma post office closes
1890In the archiveEntrance to Indian Building
20th century
1904BuiltFirst Methodist Episcopal Church is built
1922In the archiveExterior of the Alvarado hotel
1927BuiltKimo Theater is built
1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1940BuiltErnie Pyle House is built
1941Born hereWilliam Nordhaus is born here
1964Born hereJeff Bezos is born here
1973Born hereNeil Patrick Harris is born here
1992Born hereDemi Lovato is born here
21st century
2006LandmarkErnie Pyle House named a National Historic Landmark

By decade

Albuquerque, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1920s2 items

1890Entrance to Indian Building

1922Exterior of the Alvarado hotel

1930s–1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

On the map

Albuquerque on the map, 1934 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Albuquerque. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1934West Albuquerque sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Albuquerque.

Every building

Albuquerque, building by building, 1891–1924

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Albuquerque fire insurance map, 1891, sheet 1

1891Sheet 1 of 9

Edition

Sheets

+8 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewEntrance to Indian Building, 1890

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Albuquerque’s page.

Retake this view · +15

Famous people

51 famous people were born in Albuquerque

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Demi LovatoAmerican singer-songwriter and actress · b. 1992

Jeff BezosAmerican business magnate · b. 1964

Neil Patrick HarrisAmerican actor · b. 1973

William NordhausAmerican economist · b. 1941

Willow ShieldsAmerican actress · b. 2000

Annabeth GishAmerican actress · b. 1971

Help out

Start Albuquerque’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Albuquerque’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewEntrance to Indian Building: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

South Valley3 historic placesB North Valley10 historic placesB Los Ranchos de Albuquerque5 historic placesB Kirtland AFBIts storyD⁻CarnuelIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Rio RanchoIts storyD⁻Corrales1 historic placeC⁺Sandia HeightsIts storyD⁻

Questions about Albuquerque’s history

What year was Albuquerque founded?

In 1706, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Albuquerque’s post office opened in 1851.

How does Albuquerque rank for history?

Albuquerque is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #4 of 73 in New Mexico. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Albuquerque?

137 listings: 112 buildings, among them the Ernie Pyle House (a National Historic Landmark since 2006) and the San Felipe de Neri Church (listed 1969, the first), 19 historic districts with 3,380 contributing buildings, 2 sites, 2 structures, and 2 objects. 3,537 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Albuquerque?

3% of Albuquerque’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (15), the National Register of Historic Places (137), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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