The Eve Of Construction: A Groundbreaking Experience

January 14, 2015 Timothy Price16 Comments

Over two years ago they said “Give up your parking spaces, a grocery store is at hand!” And the city took out the bumpers, fenced the lot, and the lot sat empty. And yet no grocery store. A year went by, and they used it for a staging area to finish the multi-colored apartments across the street. And yet no grocery store. With the apartments finished, the fences came down, “No Parking” signs went up, and yet no grocery store. People started parking on the periphery and then in the still empty lot. And yet no grocery store. The “No Parking” signs disappeared, more parked cars, movie studios set up staging one day and disappear the next. Another year gone by, and yet no grocery store. Then came Monday’s announcement of the ground breaking for the new grocery store on Tuesday. Yesterday was gloomy and cold as the people gathered and the politicians and business representatives gave their speeches. Shovels ready, cameras rolling, the grocery store is at hand. Hooray! Let the destruction begin.

45cu1282 — The tree is down and the apartments are finished. A similar day as yesterday in the lot behind the office over a year ago.

paperboy — Liz celebrating the apocryphal news of the grocery store almost three years ago.

The Shine

January 5, 2015 Timothy Price36 Comments

Laura and Holly having their shoes and boots shined at Model Shoe Shine Parlor on Gold, a couple of doors down from our office.

Civil Disobedience

December 14, 2014 Timothy Price26 Comments

“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign… Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”

Bold, Fearless & Funky

October 11, 2014October 7, 2017 Timothy Price16 Comments

Marble Brewing Company, http://www.marblebrewery.com, is another award winning craft brewery in Albuquerque. Awarded the 2014 Great American Beer Festival Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year award by the Brewers Association, they have an impressive operation with the brewing, tap room and bottling all on site at the corner of Marble and 1st Street near downtown Albuquerque. A food truck was parked on the street serving hamburgers and French fries to the patrons spending their lunch or a leisurely Friday afternoon at the brewery.

I took the title for today’s blog off of Leah Black’s business card. She is the events & social media coordinator for Marble, and a pro at drawing drafts. After Ben interviewed Ted Rice (head of Marble) for The Beer Trale, http://www.thebeertrale.com, Leah was very accommodating and allowed us to roam freely in the brewhouse to observe, film and photograph the operation.

Sidewalk

ImageAugust 23, 2014 Timothy Price7 Comments

1964 Custom Impala

July 23, 2014 Timothy Price16 Comments

A very well done, highly customized 1964 Chevrolet Impala was in the alley downtown, where a modeling agency was using it as a prop for a photo shoot. They had finished the photo shoot by the time I was leaving the office, but the car was still there. When the owner saw me walking up with my camera, he told me to please take as many photos as I would like. He took me around the car and explained some of the details, and the cost of the various engravings, all done by hand — only $50,000 dollars for the engraving on the chrome on the rear end and spare tire cover in the last photo.

Downtown Books

April 25, 2014April 26, 2014 Timothy Price21 Comments

While you can’t quite get out the door of Downtown Books with a nicely broken-in classic in your hands scot-free, by handing Scott Free a couple of bucks on your way out the door, you will have acquired a great read for a modest price. And that’s how it is at Downtown Books at 108 8th St, SW in Downtown Albuquerque, its rooms filled with shelving, stuffed with books that cover just about every topic, genre and discipline imaginable. Downtown Books is in a building that was Albuquerque’s attempt at row houses in the early years of the last century, and collectors can find books of the same vintage as the architecture. It’s a bit of an understatement to say that Scott has just about everything anyone might want in books, including a kitchen sink full of children’s books. There are areas where you can sit down and peruse books at your leisure in the laid-back, welcoming atmosphere of the shop.

Ironically, Scott and I and both our wives had studied flamenco dance together in the early 1990’s. Scott had the bookstore on 6th Street for some time, but then when he moved just two streets to the west, we lost track of each other. We happened to cross paths on Monday when I was out front of our building talking to Nina and Greg from Cafe Fino. Scott walked by and we said “I know you!” so we talked a little while, and he mentioned he had moved his bookstore to 8th Street. So for the past 8 years or so we were working just 6 blocks from each other, but had lost track of each other.

If you are in the Albuquerque area, Downtown Books is worth taking the time to visit. The web site is www.downtownbooksabq.com and you can find it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/downtownbooksabq. If you are looking for a that special, hard to find book, you email Scott at dtownbooksabq@gmail.com he might just have what you are looking for.