Neighborhood Spotlight: Spruce Park
Spruce Park lives discreetly in the middle of the city, between UNM & Downtown. A pocket neighborhood, the area has very limited north & west access, and winding streets discourage too much through-traffic; you will need to go up- hill to access the .83 acre Spruce Park, roughly in the middle of the neighborhood.
Established in the 1920’s & building until the 1950’s, the area contains great architectural styles, including Mid-Century Modern, Streamline Moderne, Spanish Pueblo Revival, Bungalows, Territorial, Two Medieval (Hobbit) Houses, Ranch style, Mediterranean & of course a cool Modernist style home.
Above is a drone image of the greater Spruce Park area, from a Dan’s Drone Adventures drone. The park sits in the lower-left of the scene. With decades of growth, the mature trees are large & create great shaded parkspaces, seen below. The above image faces southwest, toward the park, Downtown to the right & the Southwest Mesa straight ahead…
The Spruce Park neighborhood is bounded by Lomas Blvd on the north side, with only one limited- access entry into the residential areas; the west side is adjacent to I-25; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Ave NE runs the length of the south side of the small neighborhood & is an important UNM Campus entry. The east side of Spruce Park is University Blvd, which has a wide & shady ribbon park–the University Blvd Greenspaces–spanning the length of the neighborhood. The Green-spaces help separate Campus from the historic neighborhood.
The images above and below are of Spruce Park, in Spruce Park, in August.
