Nob Hill Neighborhoods
Learn about the variety of Nob Hill Neighborhoods
A unique & compact village set in the middle of an urban metropolis.
Sitting east of the University of New Mexico (UNM) Main Campus, the one square mile that comprises the Nob Hill Neighborhoods is filled with interesting, historic residential & commercial architecture, quirky shops & restaurants, & is the location of many annual events, including Summerfest, ABQ Pride, Shop & Stroll, the Twinkle Light Parade & more.
The Nob Hill Neighborhoods are literally in the heart of the MetroABQ. Starting along Central Avenue at the UNM campus & heading eastward, the 15-block stretch is an iconic section of the historic Route 66 Mother Road. Along the Central Avenue Corridor, & in small commercial side-street hamlets north & south, are hundreds of eclectic, mostly locally-owned businesses, surrounded by residential homes, mostly built between 70-100 years ago.
Interesting early aerial images of the Nob Hill Neighborhoods, here & here, archived by the Center for Southwest Research Digital Collection, were taken in 1935 & another one snapped close to 1950.
The eight distinct neighborhoods that make up Nob Hill consist of almost 150 blocks, all stretching north & south away from the Central Avenue Nob Hill Business District. Platted in 1916, the majority of homes in Nob Hill were built from the 1920’s into the early 1950’s. Housing was typically constructed by small-scale local contractors who bought small lots & built homes mostly on contract, or for speculation. That created distinctive homes with a lot of unique regional character.
Two of the neighborhoods, Monte Vista & College View, were recently designated as a National Historic District—a whopping 82% of the homes in the two areas are contributing historic properties. The new historic district joins five other MetroABQ historic areas, spread out on both sides of historic Route 66. They include: Old Town, the Fourth Ward, Eighth & Forrester, Huning Highlands, Silver Hills, & now the Monte Vista & College View Historic District.
The six other neighborhoods in Nob Hill include the Broadmoor Addition, University Heights, Granada Heights, Mesa Grande, which includes Upper Nob Hill, & the Mankato/College View Business District.
The Nob Hill Business District:
A unique & compact village set in the middle of an urban metropolis.
Nob Hill is the heart of the MetroABQ. Hip & attractive, it’s one of Albuquerque’s most vibrant shopping & dining destinations. Starting along Central Avenue at the University of New Mexico (UNM) & heading eastward, the mile-long expanse is an iconic section of the historic Route 66 Mother Road. Along the Central Avenue Corridor, & in small commercial side-street hamlets north & south, are hundreds of eclectic, mostly locally-owned businesses.
The variety of offerings is a huge draw: Mexican imports, handcrafted furniture, jewelry stores, galleries, salons, massage & tattoo shops, dispensaries, CBD & smoke shops, & an herb store. There are theaters & performance spaces, a seven-days-a-week ‘eclectic cinema’, a board gaming guild/café, a zombie comic book store, costume shops & a pop-up toy store; a music shop, guitar store, organic bookstore, bike shops, new & used clothing, shoe repair, plus all manner of professional offices.
Dozens of notable fine dining & casual restaurants & cafés live in Nob Hill as well: classic New Mexican & Mexican fare, Latin American, Colombian, Spanish, Greek, Irish, French, Korean, Thai food, cevicherias & sushi, phô soup & noodle houses, wood oven pizza, & other comfort food joints. Plus numerous breweries, pubs, coffee & tea houses, ice creameries & dessert shops, & a chocolate bar, along with bakeries, an artisan bread shop, & an organic grocery store.
For architecture fans, the business route offers excellent selections of Post-Modern, Mid-Century Modern, Streamline Moderne, Territorial Revival & Spanish Pueblo Revival architectural styles, set amid bursts of neon signs that announce the buildings along the way.
The Nob Hill Shopping Center, at the corner of Carlisle Blvd & Central Ave, was hailed as the first modern suburban shopping center in NM. The active center anchors the Nob Hill business district & is the center of the eight distinct Nob Hill Neighborhoods that all stretch outward north & south from Central Ave.
A lot has been written about Nob Hill, specifically about the architecture & the very walk-able neighborhoods & business districts.