NEWS
The Albuquerque Press Club receives funding to fix historic Whittlesey House
$116,000 in grant money to go toward repairs, adding security cameras
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An over 120-year-old Albuquerque property where the Mayo brothers and former New Mexico Gov. Clyde Tingley once visited is being renovated.
On Monday, the city announced it awarded $116,315 in Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MRA) matching grants to fix up the historic Whittlesey House, built in 1903.
The club contributed 10% to the project.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a perfect time to do this repair work,鈥� said Nate Robertson, The Albuquerque Press Club building and grounds chairman. 鈥淚鈥檇 definitely like this building to last another 100 years. I think everyone who is a member here would as well, of course.鈥�
One of the grants was for $86,840, and it is going toward sewer and electrical repairs, new drains in the bar, a new basement sink, a mini-split cooling system, tankless water heater and repairs to the veranda and front door, according to the city.
The other grants, totaling $29,475, will help pay for security cameras linked to the Albuquerque Police Department鈥檚 Real Time Crime Center as well as fire-retardant treatment for the building鈥檚 exterior.
鈥淭he treatment reduces fire risk without altering the building鈥檚 appearance,鈥� MRA spokesperson Sarah Supple said in a news release.
The three-story, Norwegian-style log structure at 201 Highland Park SE was designed and built by Charles Whittlesey, who was also known for his work on the Alvarado Hotel and El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon.
In 1908, the Whittleseys sold the house to Theodore S. Woolsey Jr., who reportedly leased the property to tuberculosis patients who relocated to the city for its dry climate, according to the Whittlesey House Preservation Foundation.
One of those patients came with a nurse who would pass the house every day on her way to work at the Albuquerque Sanitarium. Robertson said one person who noticed her was Arthur B. Hall, who owned a pharmacy in the city.
鈥淗e kept trying to court her, but she was like, 鈥業鈥檓 just not interested,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎nd finally, he鈥檚 like, 鈥業鈥檒l do anything. What will it take?鈥� And she points at this house and she鈥檚 like, 鈥榊ou buy me the old log house and I鈥檒l marry you.鈥欌��
In 1920, Hall bought the property and married Clifford Hall. Ten years later, they divorced.
By 1935, she had remarried and became Clifford McCallum. After a second divorce, McCallum maintained the building as a showplace that would draw artists and other notable people such as the Mayo brothers 鈥� William James and Charles Horace 鈥� and Tingley, according to the foundation.
After McCallum sold the property in 1960, it was used as a fraternity house before The Albuquerque Press Club took it over in 1973.
A year later, in 1974, an electrical fire destroyed the bar and kitchen wing on the southwest corner of the building. Members rebuilt an expanded two-story wing with cinderblock faced by log strips. Over the years, the club has also replaced wiring, flooring and the roof, the Journal previously reported.
Today, there are about 1,030 club members, 60% of whom are journalists. The remaining 40% include first responders and people in the service industry, Robertson said.
Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.
