The Art Annex is a historic building on the campus of the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. Built in 1926, it originally served as the university's library. The building was designed by

Trost & Trost Trost & Trost Architects & Engineers, often known as Trost & Trost, was an architecture firm based in El Paso, Texas. The firm's chief designer was Henry Charles Trost, who was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1860. Trost moved from Chicago to Tucson, ...

and Elson H. Norris and features a Mayan-influenced hybrid form of

Pueblo Revival architecture The Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from Santa Fe de Nuevo México's traditional Pueblo architecture, the Spanish missions, and Territorial ...

. It was listed in the

New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties The New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties is a register of historic and prehistoric properties located in the state of New Mexico. It is maintained by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural ...

in 1975 and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988.

History

The university's library collection was originally housed in

Hodgin Hall Hodgin Hall, previously known at various times as the University Building, Main Building, or Administration Building, is a historic building on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Completed in 1892, it was the first bui ...

, but had outgrown that space by the 1920s. A new, dedicated library building was constructed on the site of Hadley Hall, an earlier university building that burned down in 1910. The new library was designed by the

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

firm of

in collaboration with local architect Elson H. Norris and was completed in 1926 at a cost of $42,000. However, the library collection continued to grow rapidly and exceeded the capacity of the building after only a few years. In 1938 the new, much larger Zimmerman Library was completed, and the old library was remodeled into classroom and studio space using

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

funding. The building was remodeled again in 1984–5, and currently houses graduate studios for Master of Fine Arts candidates in painting, photography, printmaking, and experimental art and technology.

Architecture

The Art Annex is a single story (with basement), flat-roofed building of brick bearing wall construction. Built during a transitional period in UNM's architectural history, it incorporates elements from a number of different styles including

Pueblo Revival The Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from Santa Fe de Nuevo México's traditional Pueblo architecture, the Spanish missions, and Territorial ...

, Beaux-Arts,

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

, and

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

. The building features a symmetrical, classically organized facade with banks of tall

hopper window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent materia ...

s to supply light to the interior reading areas. The strongly battered exterior walls are stuccoed and decorated with stylized

vigas This is a list of characters associated with the character The Punisher. Family Tree , - , style="text-align: left;", Notes: Frank Castle Jr. Francis "Frank" Castle Jr. is the son of The Punisher (Frank Castle) in Marvel Comics. Th ...

and other simple geometric elements. The original plans also included a curvilinear Mission style parapet which was never built.

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline Buildings and structures in Albuquerque, New Mexico Buildings and structures completed in 1926 University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties Pueblo Revival architecture in Albuquerque, New Mexico University of New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Albuquerque, New Mexico