What's New
Albuquerque News Highlights - Summer 2008
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center expands restaurant and galleries in $2 million project
The 32-year old
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) plans to open a 19,000 sq. ft. expansion in June 2008. A new grand entrance will include a two-story flagstone fireplace as a central interior feature in the entrance to the main
dining area. The new building will feature authentic Pueblo artwork and natural Southwestern building materials. There will be 19 exterior columns representing each of New Mexico’s Pueblos. An embossed reproduction of each respective Pueblos’ tribal seals will top all of the columns.
The Pueblo Harvest Café inside of the IPCC is the only
Native American Indian owned restaurant in Albuquerque, which will have seating for 300 with the expansion. Two exterior Horno ovens will be used to prepare traditional (pueblo) oven bread daily. The café will expand hours to include dinner service featuring Buffalo Tenderloin, Grilled Salmon, New Mexican Lamb and seasonal game plus a new Sunday brunch. Weekend evenings and Sunday brunches will also include live entertainment with flute players and other musicians.
View media release.
Triassic Hall opens at New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
The Mary and Ed Gavin Family Dawn of the Dinosaurs: New Mexico's Triassic exhibit opened May 17, 2008. This exhibition will be the only Triassic Era-focused Hall in North America and will feature hundreds of real fossil specimens from NM and the Southwest. Visitors to the exhibit will have the opportunity to encounter New Mexico's official state fossil, one of the early dinosaurs, Coelophysis. www.nmnaturalhistory.org
Turquoise Trail celebrates 25 years
2008 is the 25th Anniversary of the formation of Turquoise Trail Association, a group of business owners and artists that live along Highway 14, also called Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway. The group’s aim is to bring public attention to the State and National Scenic Byway as the “Artful Way to Santa Fe”. A contest was held by the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce in 1953 to solicit names for the highway and among the entrees was Turquoise Trail, a perfect fit. The winner, Rita Simmons, an artist from Albuquerque submitted this name and won a set of luggage. Association members will celebrate the anniversary with a “Spring Fling” May 3-4, 2008. View media release.
Rio Grande Zoo installs solar panelsThe Rio Grande Zoo recently installed six solar panels in partnership with the New Mexico Solar Energy Association. Thirty students from a PV Design & Installation Workshop helped install the Photo Voltaic (PV) solar panels on the roof of the Zoo’s gift shop, which will create a one kilowatt system that is “grid-tied” – as the panels generate electricity, the amount of power the
shops utilize from the electrical utility will decrease. The solar power inverter, located at the back of the gift shop, will accommodate additional panels in the future, to upgrade to a three kilowatt system. Besides reducing energy costs, the solar panels will be used as an educational tool to inform visitors about solar energy and encourage energy conservation at home.
National Atomic Museum to move and change name Construction has begun on the new site for the National Atomic Museum. The museum, which is currently housed in
Old Town, is scheduled to open in spring 2009 and it will be renamed the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. The new museum will be located in southeastern Albuquerque on 12 acres of land at Eubank and Southern Boulevards on the north end of Sandia Science and Technology Park. The new museum will include a 30,000 square foot building plus an outdoor park for aircraft and other large artifacts currently housed on Kirtland Air Force Base. View
media release for details.
www.atomicmuseum.com.
Albuquerque Botanic Garden to add InsectariumAn insectarium is in the works at the Albuquerque Botanic Garden. The new 2,600 square foot building will be located on the south side of the
gardens. The primary lab will be a breeding and development center for the insect exhibits. There will be additional exhibit areas adjacent to the main building. The project is expected to be completed mid-2009.
www.cabq.gov/biopark
Albuquerque Studios buzzing with business
With New Mexico's close proximity to Los Angeles and the state's film incentives, film production is on the rise in the Albuquerque area. The 28-acre Albuquerque Studios opened in April 2007 with eight sound stages with a combined total of 168,000 sq. ft. of space. The $74 million state-of-the-art motion picture and television production facility also offers full support facilities including production offices, mill space, storage and construction space, and a vast backlot. The 90-minute flight from L.A. and quick access from the Albuquerque International Sunport makes the studios very accessible to the industry. Albuquerque Studios will eventually provide work for about 2,500 people. The studios is located at Mesa del Sol, a new 9,000-acre planned urban development on Albuquerque's southwest mesa. www.abqstudios.com and www.mesadelsolnm.com
The decision by one of Hollywood's major studios to establish a new facility in Albuquerque is the lastest indication of New Mexico's rapidly expanding film industry. The 100,000 square-foot stellite facility is projected to open in June 2008 at Albuquerque Studios in Mes del Sol beginning with 100 jobs in digital media, animation and visual effects, eventually expanding to 300 employees. Sony pictures Imagworks has also recently welcomed
University of New Mexico as a new member in its Imageworks Professional Academic Excellence program in an effort to nurture young talent.
www.imageworks.com/press/expansion
Albuquerque welcomes jeep tour operator
New Mexico Jeep Tours provides a unique experience for locals, tourists and movie scouts wishing to view off-road sights, which include Spanish homesteads dating back to the 1700s, wagon train stations from the 1800s, and Pueblo ruins dating back as far as 1200 AD. www.nmjeeptours.com
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center offers pueblo tours to Acoma & ZuniA local partnership between the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the Pueblos of Acoma and Zuni, and local tour operators have created new tours for Albuquerque visitors who are interested in a Native American cultural experience. The Into the Sunset Western Pueblo Tours begin with a tour of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Then visitors board a bus for a guided tour to Acoma and/or Zuni Pueblos. The tour includes lunch and snacks. Participating in this tour saves visitors several driving miles while providing an opportunity to learn from a Native American guide and enjoy the scenery during the drive.
www.indianpueblo.org
New transportation options in Albuquerque include the Rail Runner, which is a new light rail system running north and south through the city extending north to Bernalillo and south to Los Lunas. Current plans involve expansion to
Santa Fe and Belen in 2008. The trains have
bike storage areas for easy transport. Rapid Ride is a high-speed bus route that connects the main visitor corridors for
shopping, dining and
museums along Central Avenue from the city's west side to
Uptown. All Rapid Ride buses have bike racks.
www.nmrailrunner.com
Hotel News
- Just south of Albuquerque the Isleta Casino & Resort opened a hotel complex on July1, 2008. The resort hotel features 200 luxurious rooms and suites, an aquatic themed spa, a 24-hour café, an Asian bistro, a new nightclub and a family activity center. Already existing, the Isleta Casino has more than 1,600 slots, table games and poker rooms. Next door, the Isleta Eagle 27-hole golf course is a challenging course designed around three lakes near the Rio Grande. View media release for details.
La Posada de Albuquerque broke ground on a $24 million renovation in October 2007 and will now be called the Andaluz. View media release on naming announcement. The project includes a complete renovation of guest rooms, construction of a new cultural center, a new restaurant including roof-top cantina and a focus on environmentally friendly construction. The hotel is expected to reopen by fall 2008. View factsheet for hotel details.
- The Sheraton Uptown is currently undergoing an $8 million renovation and scheduled to be completed in September 2008. The project will include renovation of the 17,000 square feet meeting space and furniture and furnishings upgrades to the 295 rooms and suites. Upgrades will be made to the ventilation, heating and air condition systems and the indoor swimming pool, as well as new additions including an Internet lounge and a media center.
- Hyatt Regency Albuquerque finished a multi-million dollar guest room renovation in spring 2008. The enhanced rooms include upgraded electronics and a fresh look, while maintaining the simple, elegant, timeless feel and decor of sophistication. Hyatt replaced the guestroom carpet and wall covering to incorporate a soft contemporary contrast to the design. New light fixtures are more energy efficient plus rooms feature 32” flat panel TVs and iHome alarm clock systems. Guest bathrooms now include porcelain tiles, redesigned lighting, plus new wall coverings and bath fixtures.
Albuquerque in the national spotlight
- Albuquerque's growing population moved the city to the big city category for 2008, but we are still a top 25 art destination, at 7th Best Big City Art Destination in AmericanStyle Magazine, April 2008
- Albuquerque was named as America's 3rd Fittest City for 2008 by Men's Fitness magazine
- No. 16 of America's 50 Greenest Cities by Popular Science, February 2008
- No. 20 on Top 25 Eventful Cities by www.eventful.com, December 2007
- Top 50 Best Places to Live and Play by National Geographic Adventure magazine, September 2007
- Golf on the Santa Fe Trail ranked among four best muli-stop shops for your next golf trip, GOLF Magazine, May '07
- Outdoor recreation opportunities made Albuquerque the 3rd best mid-sized city for cycling in Bicycling Magazine.
More Top Albuquerque Rankings
Coming Events & Attractions:
Trappings - A national traveling exhibition with interviews of more than 500 women presented in a multi-media exhibition on display at 516 Arts, June 14-August 16, 2008. www.516arts.org
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
700+ hot air balloons will take to the skies in the 37th annual festival October 4-12, 2008. www.balloonfiesta.com
View event release.
Jamestown, Quebec, and Santa Fe: Three American Beginnings October 25, 2008-March 29, 2009
The dramatic, often violent, story of European settlement in the new world is told in three languages and through the eyes of the powerful, the dispossessed and the enslaved. In conjunction with the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. www.cabq.gov/museum