L&LNM Blogs Abq Central Avenue -- Nob Hill

Michelle Worley, L&LNM Blogs Abq's Central Avenue.

Yesterday, we blogged Central between Washington and Carlisle. This is the hood that suffered a major fire a couple of weeks ago, which affected not only the condos that were being built but two adjacent businesses.

When the fire happened, it was reported that those two businesses would be closed for the following weekend. I'll tell you that at least one of those still hasn't opened.

We did notice that there will be a bike shop opening up soon, a good thing. There are some nice art galleries in the area, tucked back away from the street. And there was an open workspace that was dark and seemed unused.

Yesterday was windy, which could explain the incredible lack of pedestrian traffic. I know that this weekend, too, there are lots of events happening in Nob Hill -- the Twinkle Light Parade, Shop and Strolls, etc. Hopefully, there will be people everywhere then.

Signs
I have, like many, a love of old signs, which has been enhanced by this project. Reader comments on one FB post connected to today's excursion (the Mind of the World sign) led to the discovery that the sign was actually a student project where they took old signs and turned them into art. Now I am looking into that for more detail. If anyone knows anything, please comment. 

The sign shown with this post is another out-of-business. They had a handwritten notice on their door, apologizing for having to shut down. Another business had a sign on the door saying they have relocated to Taos.

The Numbers
For the stretch of Central between Washington and Carlisle, we counted 44 (63%) in-businesses and 26 (37%) out-of-businesses. For the entire distance we've covered so far, we have counted 387 total businesses, 278 (72%) of which are in business and 109 (28%) out of business.

HELP!
We are loving this project but A.R.T. threatens its completion. We need to tally businesses before they are destroyed by the construction. I'm hearing about stuff happening on west Central and feel like we won't get there soon enough.

 So I'm asking for help. This would be an amazing research project for college students or anyone who loves Abq and wants to record the history of Central Avenue.
We could form teams to cover different hoods along the road. We could research more deeply, even conduct interviews with residents, employees, business owners, etc.
What do you think? Are you with me? Please comment.