McCanna-Hubbell Building
a.k.a. Albuquerque Gas & Electric Co. Building, Public Service Buil
418--424 Central, SW, Albuquerque, NMThe McCanna-Hubbell Building was intended to be a landmark structure from its inception. As the original downtown headquarters of the Albuquerque Gas Electric Light and Power Company (later to become the Public Service Company of New Mexico) the building was known for its dramatic night time exterior lighting, its large showroom of electrical and home related appliances and its whimsical porthole cornices. As an advertisement for the glamour and vitality of electricity in an era of prosperous growth it was unparalleled in the city. The building's inventive design has been recognized in recent redevelopment proposals which have paid particular attention to uncovering the original cast iron display windows and to restoring the 1915 exterior lighting system.
Built by Frank Hubbell, a sheep and cattle raiser with entrepreneurial interests in real estate, the brick structure stands five blocks west of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad tracks. Its location was part of the downtown's westward expansion during the first two decades of the century. E.A. Gertig, a local builder who specialized in brick work and who most probably learned his trade in the Midwest, was the contractor. The building's architect remains unknown yet the imaginative detailing and subtle proportions suggest one was involved in the design. The McCanna-Hubbell Building's original occupants included an auto service station and a mortgage company in its eastern one story portion. This address later housed other auto related business all of which faced the building's rear, an electrical supply store, a Navajo Indian curio store and a jewelry business. Up to 100 people were employed by the Albuquerque Gas Electric Light and Power Company by 1924 and the manager, two utility supervisors and an accountant occupied offices at 422-424 Central Avenue, SW. The main showroom at A.G.& E. Co. sold a variety of appliances, and included a receiving counter where accounts and complaints were attended to. At night the entire ground floor remained lit. The McCanna Agency was co-owner of the building and managed it. Until 1930, when the Federal Building was completed nearby, various government offices were located upstairs including the Civilian Conservation Corps, the local office of the State's Department of Public Welfare, and later the u.s. Department of Interior's Grazing Services. After World War II the Public Service Company of New Mexico was formed, consolidating what had been A.G.& E. Co. with Deming Ice and Electric, Las Vegas Light and Power, and New Mexico Power Company of Santa Fe. In 1946 the McCanna-Hubbell Building was extensively remodeled in an attempt to modernize the Public Service Company's image. Automatically controlled electric doors were installed (a first for New Mexico) and the old two story sign on Central Avenue was replaced. Since the Public Service Company vacated the building in 1968, it has been used as a 98€ Store, a legal clinic and artists' studios upstairs.
The McCanna-Hubbell Building also contributes to an important downtown intersection where examples of different architectural styles from the first four decades of the century are represented. Across Central Avenue is the unique KiMo Theatre, a property that has been placed on the National Register and named a City Landmark. Together they were part of a spectacle of lights for the passing tourist on old Route 66, the main east-west highway prior to the interstate system. In a state which is heavily involved with the development of energy sources, the McCanna-Hubbell Building is a reminder of a time when coal was shipped by freight car from the nearby mining communities of Madrid and Cerrillos, converted into gas at a track-side plant and piped into city homes, and when electricity was prominently displayed as its own best civic advertisement.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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.