Jared and Laurie Tarbell Celebrate the Historic Occidental Life Building’s 100th Birthday

Old photo of Occidental Life Building
Occidental Life Building c. 1917 – Albuquerque
(Museum Photo Archive)

Jared Tarbell, a developer and visual artist who co-founded Etsy, and his wife Laurie Tarbell, an architect focused on ecological design, have been recognized with an Albuquerque History Accolade. They recently held a birthday party for the 100 year-old historic Occidental Life Building in downtown Albuquerque. The couple purchased the building in 2013 and have maintained its character as an emblem of another era in Albuquerque while implementing new developments inside which provide some foreshadowing into Downtown’s next stage as a high tech innovation hub.

The historic Occidental Life Building, on the NW corner of Third and Gold Avenue in Downtown Albuquerque, was designed by architect Henry C. Trost and features an unusual Venetian Gothic Revival architectural style inspired by the Doge’s Palace in Venice.

There is an excellent article on the Occidental Life Building by Jessica Cassyle Carr in the Alibi titled RENAISSANCE OF RESILIENCE – Occidental Life Building at 100.

View other Albuquerque History Accolades.