View from the Innside

Tour of Old Town--Old Town Hat Shop

If there's one business in Old Town that has the right idea, it's the Old Town Hat Shop.  Many visitors come to Albuquerque without a hat and find out very quickly how easy it is to get hot and sunburned on the top of your head, especially bald men!

What kind of hat do you want?  They probably have it, from cowboy hats to straw panamas, fedoras to wide-brimmed shade hats for the ladies.  Marlene also custom-designs and makes her own hat bands and hat accessories.

But the loveliness doesn't end with hats--she carries a whole selection of coordinating skirts, blouses, jackets, scarves and jewelry.  You can go shopping there and come out in a complete matching outfit, looking as cheerful as a summer sunflower or as blue as the turquoise New Mexico sky.

Here's a little history about the building: 

“The Cristobal Armijo house [at 2004 South Plaza Street] was originally a two-story adobe house in the Italianate and Queen Anne Styles, built between 1880 and 1886.  The first floor façade was plastered, carved, and painted to look like brick, while the second story was later faced in brick.  Both surfaces have been recently stuccoed.  Cristobal Armijo was a wealthy investor, one of the founders of the First National Bank in New Town.”  (history courtesy of The Albuquerque Museum)

The Hat Shop is on the south side of the Cristobal Armijo House, facing onto San Felipe Street, and appears to have been part of some outbuildings attached to the house around a courtyard.

Treat yourself to something new and beautiful at the Old Town Hat Shop and feel like a million bucks!

 

Old Town Hat Shop

205-C San Felipe Street NW

Albuquerque, NM   87104

www.oldtownhats.com

 

Tour of Old Town--Albuquerque's first public school (Trader Barb's)

I read several dozen blogs, and I'm always intrigued by where people live.  I realized that I live in a fascinating place, and maybe those who read this blog would be interested in some of the history around here.

So here's the first of an occasional series called "Tour of Old Town." 

I'll start with this lovely spot.  I was out taking photos of the Christmas decorations around Old Town the day after Thanksgiving.

This building is the site of Albuquerque's first public school, established in 1881 by Sister Blandina and two other nuns.  It's attached to the north side of San Felipe de Neri Church, which was built on its present site in 1793.  The church had originally been built on a site a little farther to the west but, after several fires and floods, was re-built where it stands today.

Of course, there was a parish school established with the founding of the Villa de Alburquerque in 1706.  Building a church and starting a school were two of the requirements to be granted land for the colony by the King of Spain. 

You can't see it in this photo, but on the peak of the building is the cupola that housed the school bell that would be rung to call the children to school each morning.

Today this building is the home of Trader Barb's, a lovely boutique filled with items to delight any lady.

320 Romero St NW # B
Albuquerque, NM 87104
(505) 242-8822