Remember the Alvarado!

For nearly 70 years, Fred Harvey’s Alvarado Hotel served as a destination for travelers, the social center for Albuquerque residents, and the anchor for the core of downtown Albuquerque. Despite years of preservation advocacy, the Alvarado fell victim to the wrecking ball in early 1970.

On September 22, 2024, Joe McKinney and Chuck Larrabee discussed the economic forces that led to the hotel’s closure and the citizens’ advocacy efforts to save the landmark. Joe and Chuck were both involved: Chuck as a high school student protesting the hotel’s potential demise, and Joe as a leader of the grass-roots campaign working with city leaders and decision makers trying to halt the demolition and define a future for the structure.

This is the second presentation this year covering the Alvarado Hotel. The first, “Arches and Artistry – A Chronicle of Albuquerque’s Alvarado Hotel” by architect and Fred Harvey historian Matt Kluge, was presented in July and is available for viewing here.

Joe McKinney, originally from McKinney, Texas, graduated from Texas Tech University with degrees in architecture, city planning, and architectural history. In Albuquerque, he served as a senior planner in the city’s Planning Department and was involved in the city’s development plan for downtown in 1966. He next headed the planning department at Chambers and Campbell Architects where he developed master plans for various New Mexico cities. In 1969, Joe became the first University Planner at UNM, where he also taught. He retired in 2005 and is active today as a docent at the Albuquerque Museum and on various landmark committees in Albuquerque. Joe has received numerous awards for his contributions to historic preservation in New Mexico.

Chuck Larrabee was born and raised in Albuquerque and has many fond memories of the Alvarado Hotel in the 50’s and 60’s, enjoying the gardens after eating with his family in the hotel’s lunchroom or before catching a Santa Fe train to visit his grandparents in Iowa. As a high school student, Chuck became involved in the efforts to save the Alvarado, primarily lending his voice to the supporters who marched in the streets and attending City Council meetings. A graduate of Albuquerque Academy and Northwestern University, Chuck had a 35-year career in corporate communications and public relations, retiring from the Raytheon Company in 2011 and moving back to his hometown. Chuck is a member of the Albuquerque Historical Society’s Board of Directors.