Historic theater to get repairs if bond is approved

The historic Hiland Theater, built in 1951 along historic Route 66 in Albuquerque, is considered a local landmark, but it needs some repairs.

To do those renovations, the county-owned building, a $1.1 million bond question needs to be passed by voters on Election Day, reports the Albuquerque Tribune.

This theater is Route 66,” Archuleta said. “There is so much rich history here. Losing the Hiland would be like losing the Alvarado all over again.”

The Alvarado, a stylish Fred Harvey hotel Downtown, was demolished in 1970 for a parking lot.

Archuleta said plenty of developers would be happy to bulldoze the Hiland and adjacent buildings and replace them with loft apartments. And she concedes that might be a more profitable way for the county to go.

“We could make money selling to developers,” she said. “But is that what our job as a government is – to make money? Or is it to serve the community?”

Archuleta’s hope is to turn the Hiland and two adjoining buildings, which the county also owns, into a performing arts space and a center for neighborhood functions.

Here is more from the county’s Web site about the Hiland.

So if you live in Albuquerque and are registered to vote there, you know what to do.

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