Renovating the Alvarado, 1940
Hospitality companies redecorate, renovate, and refurbish their properties on a regular cycle. As an architect and decorator for the Fred Harvey hospitality company, Mary E. J. Colter (1869 – 1958) spent much of her time in this work. She traveled “the line”—the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway line along which Fred Harvey managed and operated the hotels, restaurants and shops—generating design ideas, overseeing construction, and purchasing new fittings and furnishing. This last task often took her to Mexico or farther afield.
In 1902, Colter’s first job with Fred Harvey was at the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque, where she helped decorate a museum and shop exhibiting wares made by Native Americans. Nearly four decades later, Colter oversaw the renovation of the same hotel’s restaurants and lounge. Much had changed for the hotel over the decades, starting with a significant decline in the railway traffic that once dropped trainloads of guests at the Alvarado’s doorstep.
One thing that didn’t change in 1940 was the Southwestern theme. A local newspaper quoted Colter as saying, “I believe the hotel should be remodeled and redecorated so it will not clash with anything that is southwestern.” The remodeled dining rooms and lounge included “brilliantly painted windows…glazed in designs of turquoise, magenta, deep purple, orange and green.” The hand-painted flowers and vines on glass were created by Fred Harvey artist Fred Geary.
These windows gained particular attention in the hotel’s new cocktail lounge Cocina Cantina. “Be sure to pay a visit to the room in the late afternoon if only to see the light from the brilliantly painted windows reflected on the brick floors and lower walls,” one reporter advised. In the same room hanging parrot cages were transformed into light fixtures and the tiled bar incorporated Spanish “old saws” or adages. The manager said the large open fireplace would be used to cook and serve Mexican food in the winter months.
The patio at Cocina Cantina (Albuquerque Museum)
For the warmer months, Colter created an outdoor patio separated from the street by an eight foot high wall. “Just as you decide the cocktail lounge is the perfect place to spend a leisure hour, you step into the new patio,” a reporter wrote. Where it wasn’t covered by old flagstone pavers, Cocina Cantina’s patio was lushly planted. It was lit by four large fused-glass lights on wrought iron stands described as “producing a beautiful iridescence.” Colter had procured these lights at a Mexican racetrack.
Colter’s attention to detail was often remarked upon. Her design for this cocktail lounge included uniforms for the waitresses, with colors selected and fit tailored to each individual. As with many of her projects, Colter’s design lent a sense of age and timelessness to the new bar. A reporter noted, “One’s first impression is of gaiety and color. Only later do you realize the lack of brand-newedness that usually accompanies opening days….You can chalk up that miracle to the unfaltering taste of Miss Mary Colter.”
In 1954, the Santa Fe Railway renovated the rustic Cocina Cantina again, transforming it into the mid-century modern Spotlight Room. Facing declining profits, the railway closed the Alvarado on January 2, 1970, and auctioned off its contents later that month. Demolition began in late January on the same day the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places—a designation that came too late. The Alvarado was demolished and its site became a commercial parking lot.
Sources
“To Retain Atmosphere of Alvarado in Redecorating, Remodeling Program,” The Albuquerque Tribune, Feb 2, 1940: 2.
“Alvarado Hotel’s New Cocktail Lounge to be Opened in Two Weeks,” Albuquerque Journal, May 28, 1940: 13.
“Alvarado’s Cocktail Lounge Opens to Display Spanish Atmosphere,” The Albuquerque Tribune, July 10, 1940: 10.
Arnold Berke, Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002).
Slaney, Deborah C. Jewel of the Railroad Era: Albuquerque's Alvarado Hotel (Albuquerque: The Albuquerque Museum, 2009).