Located in Albuquerque’s historic Huning Castle neighborhood near the Albuquerque Country Club and its golf course, this one-of-a kind-house was one of the first homes built in this area.
The Spanish Moorish architectural style, the distinctive brickwork around the entrance door and windows, the ceiling beams, wrought iron railings and other interior details of this house indicate that the architect was the renowned Leon Watson, who built custom homes in this area during the first half of the 20th century. Watson also built four other houses in this neighborhood, one of them a few doors to the east known as the “Breaking Bad house,” so-called because it was featured in the - television series of that name.
All of these homes share the architect’s trademark style of custom stone and brickwork framing doors, windows, and fireplaces, as well as such interior details as custom iron railings and balusters, solid hardwood floors, and artistic tile-work. The exterior walls of the house are constructed of clay “penitentiary blocks,” an extremely strong and durable material that Watson favored in his designs. The thick interior walls have heavily-textured lath-and-plaster surfaces, and the thick, dense, solid plaster on the walls and ceilings muffles sound and insulates the rooms much better than the drywall or “sheetrock” wall surfaces used in house construction today.
This house features a 370-sq. ft. sunken living room with a high ceiling and large walk-in fireplace, a tile floor, and heavy exposed wooden beams in the walls and ceiling. The high, massive fireplace chimney is made of both brick and stone and has decorative, protruding lava stones on its exterior.
The master bedroom includes a small dressing room and opens onto a balcony with a wrought-iron railing overlooking the front yard and street. The bathrooms still have their original pedestal sinks, toilets, and other fixtures common to the period in which the house was constructed, and there are colorful tile patterns decorating the bathroom floors, walls, shower, and tub.
The house is centrally heated by a modern gas furnace in the basement. There is an additional detached living space, including a toilet and shower, across the back yard at the rear of the property, affording the potential for rental income. Also in the rear of the property, at the end of a long driveway, is the two-car garage, with a carport in the driveway itself.
The back yard has privacy walls all around, and on the east and west sides these walls are covered with ivy, grapevines, and flowering shrubs. The house has no lawn at present, so the new owner may choose to xeriscape, or if a grass lawn is desired there is an underground sprinkler system in both the front and back yards.
The tile designs on the living room floor and the walls and floors of the bathrooms are unique works of art, as are the custom wrought ironwork and the carved wooden beams and supports employed in parts of the house. These are the legacy of skilled artisans from over ninety years ago, masters of their trades who obviously took pride in their work.
Owing to its age, this house will require some restoration and modernization by the new owner.
During the 92 years since its construction, this house has been home to two families, the present one having been in residence since 1968. The family is selling the house as-is, with the buyer to assume all repairs and upgrades.
