Riveted by NM Architect Harvey Hoshour Drawings & Plans
Harvey Hoshour & the UNM Center for SW Research & Special Collections
How prolific was Architect Harvey Hoshour? Very. Besides his Modernist leanings, Hoshour also took a significant interest in restoring historic buildings. He designed or was involved in the following short list of significant commercial projects:
- The First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque (1964)
- The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque (1971–1976)
- The Girard Wing in the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe (1978–1985)
- The Health Sciences Learning Resources Center UNM Campus (1974–1977)
- The North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks (1983–1988)
- The Taylor Ranch Library in Albuquerque (1984–1988)
- The KiMo Theater Historic Restoration Albuquerque (1978–1982)
- The New Mexico Title Building Historic Restoration Albuquerque (1980–1983)
The UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections — the preeminent Southwest archive — lives on the University of NM campus, at the Zimmerman Library, & specializes in preserving historical manuscripts, books, photographs, architectural drawings, recordings, & other library materials relating to New Mexico, the Southwestern U.S., & Latin America. It also houses the UNM University Archives, as well as a collection of rare books on various topics from around the world.
Harvey Hoshour’s extensive collection of projects also lives at the SW Research center & is easy to access & study. The collection contains over 200 sets of architectural drawings & plans, & was recently added onto by his wife, Mrs. Lise Hoshour, in 2019. The Harvey S. Hoshour Architectural Drawings & Plans Archive spans 32 boxes, containing correspondence, notes, photographs, project outlines, preliminary sketches, presentation boards, & construction documents for over 250 sites.
The two images above are both of the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque — a western & eastern view of the church Sanctuary — a prominent project Hoshour completed in 1964.
The Encino Crescent
As the MetroABQ’s commercial buildings began wending up the East Mesa from Huning highlands toward UNM, Hoshour designed the Encino Crescent, above. Originally designed as a half-circle — crescent-shaped — building for doctor & dentist offices, but due to budget cuts, the “crescent” became more of a fourplex. Some Hoshour design elements remained, like the wall of windows, stark steel beams & extended overhangs. The original plans & the finished design plans are seen below.
The Mind of Architect Harvey Hoshour
…was a creative one. In perusing his archive, I came across his unused plans to revitalize the Robinson Park area, Downtown. His vision was extensive but didn’t make the final cut.
However, the plans remain & are very interesting to explore. Above is a rowhouse triplex he envisioned for the project, with the ability to expand & connect to other triplexes in the row. A quick look at the floorplans seems to indicate three almost identical one-bedroom apartments. Not quite.
If you follow the layout of the walls & doors of the floorplan, you realize that the spaces are more entwined, which changed the occupancy. The triplex is actually made up of a studio apartment in the middle, a one-bedroom apartment to the right, & a two-bedroom apartment on the left, seen below. Mono-apartments designs — rows of apartments all the same size — tend to reduce the diversity of folks who can stay there. Hoshour’s easily-reproducible design allows different living situations to exist on the same block. Sweet.
Hoshour is all over the place…
Above is another Harvey Hoshour home, in the private Tanoan golfing community of the MetroABQ’s NE Heights. Beautifully & completely remodeled, the home just sold for over $1 million dollars. The image was from Fotovan.com.
Albuquerque Modernism is also a great resource for some Hoshour projects & MetroABQ Modernism in general. This describes more about the Encino Crescent…
A final word about Architect Harvey Hoshour, from the SW Research Center:
“Hoshour contributed a modernist approach to Albuquerqueʼs public and residential buildings, creating a striking contrast to the organic lines of New Mexicoʼs preeminent Spanish Pueblo Revival style of architecture. Hoshourʼs designs utilize a sleek and geometric balanced simplicity. Less than one year after his premature death on December 27, 1988, he was awarded the Bainbridge Bunting Award from the Albuquerque Conservation Association for his historic restoration projects.”
Harvey Hoshour’s classic Mid-Mod 1969 Netherwood Park creation is known to a lot of people who love Mid-Century Modern homes, main living area seen above. Part One of this article about Hoshour can be found here:
The 3D Tour-generated Dollhouse version of the floorplan is below.
Thx for reading & for making it this far.
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About me
Extraordinary architects live & create in Albuquerque; beautiful & profound art installations abound; Greenspaces & Parklands define whole areas of the city; extras like Growers’ Markets & cultural events add to our quality of life. I’m a Realtor & write about it all in the MetroABQ Newsletter.
Below is a link to the full MetroABQ Newsletter Archive…
<<Check me out at my site: ChrisLucasABQ.com.>> Thx again!
