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(Photograph by Regina N. Emmer) -
Service bays (Photograph by Regina N. Emmer)
Opened in 1931, the Magnolia Service Station shows how the economy of Barelas was oriented to the automobile after Fourth Street became part of Route 85 in 1926. Run by the local mechanic Ernest Fierro, the station sold gas from its convenient corner location at Fourth Street and Pacific Avenue, which allowed cars to drive through from either direction. The California Mission Style building of red brick, with a curvilinear parapet and clay tile awning, was designed by a local architect and employed one of the regional idioms that had earlier been adopted for New Mexico in buildings like Albuquerque’s Alvarado Hotel. In 1942, the filling station was expanded to provide automobile repairs with the addition of service bays in poured concrete. The building has since been painted and a mural added to its northwest corner. Currently vacant, it is being preserved as part of the Barelas-South Fourth Street Historic District.
References
Wilson, Chris, “Auto-Oriented Commercial Development in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1916-1956,” Bernalillo County, New Mexico. National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form, 1996. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
Wilson, Chris, “Barelas-South Fourth Street Historic District,” Bernalillo County, New Mexico. National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form, 1996. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.