History
The James N. Gladding House stands at 643 Cedar Street NE in the Huning Highland and Silver Hill neighborhoods just east of downtown Albuquerque. The residence was constructed in 1926, during the building boom that followed the consolidation of the railroad shops and the expansion of the residential streets between Central Avenue and Lomas Boulevard.
The house is a representative example of the small Pueblo Revival residence that became common in Albuquerque in the 1920s. It is built of conventional masonry construction finished in earth-toned stucco rather than load-bearing adobe, but its form vocabulary draws directly from the older mud-brick villages of the Rio Grande valley. Stepped parapets, projecting vigas, hand-troweled stucco surfaces, deep-set wooden window openings, and a low, broad silhouette tie it to the larger campus and civic projects then rising at the University of New Mexico a short distance to the south.
The property is named for James N. Gladding, an early-twentieth-century Albuquerque resident whose family was associated with the residential development of Silver Hill. The house represents the translation of the Pueblo Revival idiom from its original institutional and resort applications into ordinary middle-class housing, a translation that made adobe revival the default visual language of central New Mexico residential construction for several decades.
The Gladding House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 under reference 80002535 for its architectural significance as an early and well-preserved example of the Albuquerque Pueblo Revival residence. It remains a private residence and is not open to visitors, although it is visible from Cedar Street. The property sits within the broader central Albuquerque adobe revival corridor that runs from the university campus north through Silver Hill and Huning Highland to the railroad belt.
Common questions
What is the James N. Gladding House?
The James N. Gladding House is a historic Pueblo Revival adobe house in the Spruce Park neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is a one-story, L-shaped adobe building organized around a walled courtyard, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places both individually and as a contributing property in the Spruce Park Historic District.
When was the James N. Gladding House built?
The James N. Gladding House was built in 1926 by James N. Gladding as a model home for the Country Club Addition subdivision he was developing, which later became the Spruce Park neighborhood. Gladding lived in the house himself from 1928 to 1934.
Where is the James N. Gladding House located?
The James N. Gladding House is located at 643 Cedar Street NE in the Spruce Park neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Is the James N. Gladding House open to the public?
The James N. Gladding House is a private residence and is not open to the public for tours.
Who built the James N. Gladding House?
The house was built in 1926 by James N. Gladding, president of the Southwestern Construction Company and a partner in the Gaastra & Gladding architecture firm with T. Charles Gaastra. Gladding was also the developer of the surrounding Spruce Park neighborhood.
Why is the James N. Gladding House historically significant?
The James N. Gladding House is notable as a fine example of Pueblo Revival style architecture popular in Albuquerque during the interwar period, featuring a corbelled-post portal with vigas around a walled courtyard. It is NRHP-listed under reference number 80002535 and was once home to novelist Conrad Richter.
