Grande, Charles, House
4317 Grande St., NW, Albuquerque, NMThe Bungalow style Grande House is significant in Albuquerque as one of the few unaltered houses dating from the period of early "Anglo" settlement in the traditionally Hispanic north valley and it one of the earliest buildings of its type in the area. It is also the only intact original house built by one of a number of Italian families who came to farm the area after the coming of the railroad.
Charles Grande joined his brother, Cesare, in Albuquerque in the 1880's. The Grandes were from the area around Naples, unlike most of the Italian immigrants in Albuquerque who came from Tuscany. The two brothers went into the saloon and hotel business. In 1890, again unlike the majority of the Italians in Albuquerque, Grande married into a Spanish family; his wife, Carmelita Garcia, belonged to a north valley family. In 1910 Charles began adding land to that owned by his wife and built himself a house, still standing but somewhat remodeled. He lost this house but soon built another, the house at 4317 Grande Road. The Grandes raised a variety of livestock which they sold to a local meat market and also established an extensive vineyard, as did a number of north Valley Italian farmers.
The land was divided among Charles Grande's children after their parents' death and was subsequently subdivided for housing in the 1950's.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.