80
Chapter 5: Troubled Waters
Men were put to work and food was on the table, as laborers built Roosevelt Park, Zimmerman Library, the first “subway” under the railroad tracks, a second underpass on Tijeras, and a new Coal Avenue viaduct. Many venerated edifices today bear witness to the Great Depression. The San benefited from repaired sidewalks and other small jobs. The crown jewel was a new municipal airport at the south end of Yale. A water park with a lake, swimming, boating, water skiing, bathhouses, and a concession stand provided inexpensive entertainment. Conservancy Beach was renamed Ernie Pyle Beach to honor the world-famous local war correspondent. But it was dubbed, and remains known as, Tingley Beach on Tingley Drive. The flamboyant couple in the governor’s mansion also spearheaded a new hospital in Hot Springs, New Mexico, now known as Truth or Consequences. Polio ravaged America’s youth, and Carrie Tingley Hospital for Crippled Children provided a place for physical therapy, respirators, and what little could be done to help them. Mrs. Tingley always delivered Christmas gifts for every little one, even when her husband was dying.
Below: Zimmerman Library
Courtesy: University of New Mexico
circa 1938
PHS_100.indb 80
One project, a basalt masonry gazebo and wall around Old Town Plaza, was instantly and unanimously loathed. The newly formed Old Albuquerque Historical Society’s first project was to cheerfully demolish both.
9/23/08 11:21:13 PM