Old Albuquerque High School
Central/Broadway NE; 1914, 1927, 1938-40; George Williamson, Louis Hesselden

Typical of school buildings of the period when most schools favored the brick and white trim typical of the Gothic Revival style, Old Albuquerque High served as the city's only high school from 1914 to 1948. The complex continued as a school until the 1970s when it was sold to a private developer. There have been many plans for its renovation; so far none has succeeded.

Five buildings around a central courtyard form a compact campus. The original building is, of course, Old Main (1914), which faces Central Avenue. Designed by El Paso architect Henry C. Trost, who designed many of the city's premier buildings. It included a science laboratory, gymnasium (complete with bleachers), library, and 850-seat auditorium, as well as classrooms. With these facilities it provided quality education to as many as 500 students yearly. At the time critics considered the building too large. In 1927 local architect Gorge Williamson was commissioned to design a Manual Arts Building in a similar style north of Old Main on Arno. It included a woodshop, classrooms, and a lunchroom.

Ten years later, Albuquerque Public Schools took advantage of New Deal funding and WPA manpower to add still three more buildings to the complex: the Classroom Building (1937), the large Gymnasium Building (1938), and the Library Building (1940). All three were designed by another local architect, Louis Hesselden, to blend with the established Gothic Revival style of the first two buildings.

Over the years, projects to adapt and reuse the school for various commercial and housing purposes were unable to get off the ground until recently. The Lofts, the redevelopment project currently renovating Old Main and the Classroom Building, will be reusing the classroom space as apartments. As a Landmark, the interior spaces are also protected, and the main library room and gymnasium spaces are preserved as such.