A Walk Along Old Route 66

To give Kate a little break as she gets her creative juices flowing on a consistent basis, I took a short walk around downtown Albuquerque.

Central Avenue serves as "Main Street" for the city as it passes through downtown.

In a past life, Central Avenue was Route 66 passing through this area along its route from Chicago to Los Angeles.

To my eye, the One Up cocktail lounge and restaurant looked like a building that would have been featured in the old TV cartoon show "The Jetsons."

I took this photo just because I liked the fire escape and its shadow on the side of this building just a block off Central.

This was one of the most artistic murals (below) I've ever seen. Kevin Zuckerman and almost two dozen other artists collaborated to paint the "Echoes of the Future" mural, which "blends ideas from art history, several cultures and contemporary science in order to imagine beyond the present moment."

A couple of blocks north of Central Avenue is the Convention Center. I was drawn to the tile artwork on the exterior.

I think this looks like a fire-breathing dragon, but I could not learn anything about the artist or the themes to determine if my guess is accurate.

Public artwork can be found throughout the downtown area. This group of sculptures is titled "Sidewalk Society," by Glenna Goodacre. These works add much to the character of the city.

I just thought this idea indicating where one can secure a bicycle was both artistic and functional.

A fence surrounded the outdoor tables and chairs at a restaurant called The Rooster, and emblems like this one were spaced along the fence.

The Library Bar and Grill carried the theme to the exterior of the building with these "books," entitled Gone with the Gin, Tequila Mockingbird, A Midsummer Night's Drink, The Wrath of Grapes, Lord of the Onion Rings, and Partying 101.

Interesting variety of sights downtown.