The Hendren Building is a historic commercial building in the

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highes ...

neighborhood of

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 1946, it is one of the city's most notable examples of

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

architecture, and representative of the boom in automobile-oriented commercial development in the immediate post-war period. The building was one of the last completed works by architect

T. Charles Gaastra Tjalke Charles Gaastra (1879 – 1947) was an American architect who worked in the American southwest in the first half of the twentieth century. He won the International Exhibit of Architecture in Berlin for the Gildersleeve house in Santa ...

. It was added to 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 1999 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 2000.

History

The Hendren Building was constructed in 1946 by J.L. Hendren, a local grocery store owner who saw the potential for further commercial development in the rapidly growing Nob Hill area. At the time, the city was expanding further away from the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

core, and residents of the new developments wanted shops and businesses nearer their homes. In particular, Hendren believed a building containing doctors' offices and a pharmacy would be welcomed by area residents. Hendren commissioned

to design the building, which ended up being one of the architect's last works before his death in 1947. Supposedly the

design was based on a photograph Hendren had seen of a building on a similarly shaped lot somewhere in the Midwest. Construction began in early 1946 and lasted approximately nine months. Hendren's venture proved successful, and the property was fully leased within a year. The initial tenants of the building included a pharmacy, an electrical supply company, a luggage shop, and doctors' offices. The Hendren Building has housed a number of businesses over the years but remains in use for its original purpose as of 2015. The building was remodeled in the early 2000s, removing the black

Carrara Glass Pigmented structural glass, also known generically as structural glass and as vitreous marble, and marketed under the names Carrara glass, Sani Onyx, and Vitrolite, among others, is a high-strength, colored glass. Developed in the United States i ...

cladding among other modifications.

Architecture

The Hendren Building is a one-story, flat-roofed commercial block located on the acute corner formed by Dartmouth Drive and Monte Vista Boulevard. The building is V-shaped with wings extending along both streets, containing a number of small commercial spaces. The building's strongly horizontal lines and rounded corner entrance are typical of the

architectural style. The exterior was originally faced with pink stone and black

, though the latter was removed in the early 2000s. Large block letters above the roof line spell the name of the building.

References

{{reflist Office buildings in Albuquerque, New Mexico Commercial buildings completed in 1946 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties National Register of Historic Places in Albuquerque, New Mexico