History of Albuquerque’s Parks Told Through Photographs

Aug. 1, 2011 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Albuquerque’s Parks and Open Space from local author Matt Schmader. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by.

Albuquerque is a city of crossroads and cultures. Located at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains, at the edge of the Great Plains, and in the high desert along the banks of the Rio Grande, it is the junction where historic Camino Real crosses venerable Route 66.

Although officially founded as a Spanish Colonial villa in 1706, native people have lived in the Albuquerque area for over 10,000 years. Thousands of ancient petroglyphs are testimony to the endurance of today’s pueblo peoples. Explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado overwintered his famed expedition here in 1540–1542.

Albuquerque has been a boomtown several times, from the coming of the railroad to its role as a health mecca, and from postwar urban growth to recent sunbelt immigration. This mile-high city has always attracted outdoor enthusiasts, as this chronicle of its parks and magnificent open space system attests. Contributions of Aldo Leopold, Clyde Tingley, Harry Kinney, and many community activists have melded with native and Hispanic traditions to create a place unlike any other.

Highlights of Albuquerque’s Parks and Open Space:
•   The book illustrates how Albuquerque’s unique natural setting has set the stage for centuries of human settlement, and how the city’s history is an outgrowth of its cultural geography.
•   The book shows how the idea of parks had to catch up with the growth of the city as an 19th American boom town, and how several phases of growth shaped the city’s outdoor recreation.
•   The book features some of Albuquerque’s oldest parks, including Robinson, Highland, and Roosevelt, and follows them from early days of construction through changes and up to the present.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or
(888)-313-2665.

# # #

With more than 6,000 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.