National Register Listing

Springer Building

121 Tijeras Ave., NE, Albuquerque, NM

The Springer Transfer Company was founded in Albuquerque by Mr. William Springer, who began in the drayage business. Local hauling of furniture, sand, and earth was the main activity of the company in those days. In January 1918, the Springer Transfer Company was incorporated in the new State of New Mexico. Mr. Springer served as president until his death in 1925 when Mr. Bennett replaced him. By 1925 the business had grown to "engage in the storage business to provide a potentially profitable service to the growing population of Albuquerque." A warehouse on East Central Avenue was purchased first; then in 1929 Springer Transger engaged architect G. M. Williamson to complete a new office and storage facility. Williamson was an associate of Trost and Trost in the 1920s. However, it was his own firm, including architect Miles Brittelle, Sr., which designed the Springer Building in 1929.

According to Edna Bergman, the architect consciously selected a motif for the building which would provide 'something different for an indifferent site.' However, with the construction of the handsome Tijeras railroad underpass in 1937, a very pleasing juxtaposition of concrete work occurred, the open spaces of the underpass railing system taking on the same shape as the entry arch of the Springer Building; the site became more interesting visually than it had been when the building was first conceived.

The Springer Building is an outstanding example of a commercial building that fits not only its use and site but reflected as well the wider interests of the architectural world. As a 'Mayan temple' in a period of archaeological revival styles, it provides a handsome, unusual and appropriate counterpoint to Albuquerque's pueblo and southwestern revival buildings.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.