Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County, and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city had a total population of 448,607 as of the 2000 census. The metropolitan area has a population of roughly 712,738 and includes the city of Rio Rancho, one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.
ABQ (a colloquialism for the city and also the code for the city's airport) is located where the Interstate highways I-40 and I-25 meet in an interchange which locals refer to as the "Big I."
Albuquerque is home to the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Kirtland Air Force Base as well as Sandia National Laboratories and Petroglyph National Monument. The Sandia Mountains run along the eastern side of Albuquerque and the Rio Grande flows through the city north to south. Albuquerque's climate is usually sunny and dry, averaging no more than 10-12 inches (250 to 300 mm) of precipitation per year. With more than 300 days of sunshine annually, Albuquerque is considered as having one of the best climates in North America.
The city hosts the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta every October. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta started in 1972.
As of the census of 2000, there are 448,607 people, 183,236 households, and 112,690 families residing in the city. The population density is 958.9/km2 (2,483.4/mi2). There are 198,465 housing units at an average density of 424.2/km2 (1,098.7/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 71.59% White, 3.09% Black or African American, 3.89% Native American, 2.24% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 14.78% from other races, and 4.31% from two or more races. 39.92% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 183,236 households out of which 30.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% are married couples living together, 12.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% are non-families. 30.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 3.02.
In the city the population is spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $38,272, and the median income for a family is $46,979. Males have a median income of $34,208 versus $26,397 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,884. 13.5% of the population and 10.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.4% of those under the age of 18 and 8.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
The city was founded in 1706 as the Spanish colonial outpost of Alburquerque; present-day Albuquerque retains much Spanish cultural and historical heritage.
Alburquerque was a farming community and strategically located military outpost along the Camino Real. The town of Alburquerque was built in the traditional Spanish village pattern: a central plaza surrounded by government buildings, homes, and a church. This central plaza area has been preserved and is open to the public as a museum, cultural area, and center of commerce. It is referred to as "Old Town Albuquerque" or simply "Old Town."
The village was named by the provincial governor Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdes in honour of the Duke of Alburquerque, viceroy of New Spain from 1702 to 1710. The first "r" in "Alburquerque" was dropped at some point in the 19th century, supposedly by an Anglo-American railroad station-master unable to correctly pronounce the city's name. In the 1990's, the Central Avenue Trolley Buses were emblazoned with the name Alburquerque (note the extra "r" as the fifth letter) in honor of the city's historic name. Throughout 2005 and 2006, the tricentennial celebration is taking place throughout the city. During the Civil War Albuquerque was occupied in February 1862 by Confederate troops under General Henry Hopkins Sibley, who soon afterwards advanced with his main body into northern New Mexico. During his retreat from Union troops into Texas he made a stand on April 8, 1862 at Albuquerque. A day-long engagement at long range led to few casualties against a detachment of Union soldiers commanded by Colonel Edward R. S. Canby.
When the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1880, it bypassed the Plaza, locating the passenger depot and railyards about two miles east in what quickly became known as New Albuquerque or New Town. Old Town remained a separate community until the 1940s when it was absorbed by the City of Albuquerque, which had been incorporated in 1891. Albuquerque High School, the city's first high school, was established in 1879.
New Albuquerque quickly became a tidy southwestern town which by 1900 boasted a population of 8,000 inhabitants and all the modern amenities including an electric street railway connecting Old Town, New Town, and the recently established UNM campus on the East Mesa. In 1902 the famous Alvarado Hotel was built adjacent to the new passenger depot and remained a symbol of the city until it was torn down in 1970 to make room for a parking lot. In 2002, the Alvarado Transportation Center was built on the site in a manner resembling the old landmark. The large metro station functions as the downtown headquarters for the city's transit department, and serves as an intermodal hub for local buses, Greyhound buses, and the Rail Runner commuter rail line, not to mention Albuquerque's growing light-rail transit system.
New Mexico's dry climate brought many tuberculosis patients to the city in search of a cure during the early 1900s, and several sanitaria sprang up on the East Mesa to serve them. Presbyterian Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital, two of the largest hospitals in the Southwest, had their beginnings during this period. Influential New Deal-era governor Clyde Tingley and famed southwestern architect John Gaw Meem were among those brought to New Mexico by tuberculosis.
The first travelers on Route 66 appeared in Albuquerque in 1926, and before long dozens of motels, restaurants, and gift shops had sprung up along the roadside to serve them. Route 66 originally ran through the city on a north-south alignment along Fourth Street, but in 1937 it was realigned along Central Avenue, a more direct east-west route. The intersection of Fourth and Central downtown was the principal crossroads of the city for decades. The majority of the surviving structures from the Route 66 era are on Central, though there are also some on Fourth.
The establishment of Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories, in 1939 and 1949, respectively, would make Albuquerque a key player the Atomic Age, and the IT Age of the 21st Century. Meanwhile, the city continued to expand outward onto the East Mesa, reaching a population of 200,000 by 1960.
As Albuquerque spread outward, the downtown area fell into a decline. Many historic buildings were razed in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for new plazas, highrises, and parking lots as part of the city's urban renewal project. Only recently has downtown come to regain much of its urban character, mainly through the construction of many new loft apartment buildings and the renovation of historic structures like the KiMo Theater.
Source:
AlbuquerqueNewMexico.com
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