Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Las Cruces: West Picacho Boulevard, Part 2: Trans-itional, -itory, -ient, -formational?


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


Las Cruces' overall vibe is a little, well, bland. There are pockets of attitude, though, and West Picacho is one of those.

W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


You'd think the lane below was in the country, but no, it's on W. Picacho. 


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


You can tell Picacho has had its ups and its downs over the decades, most recently downs. I'm thinking an uptick is around the corner.


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


As escapees from Phoenix and Los Angeles search for fresh fields to plunder, West Picacho with its Route 66 cred, is ripe for a rebirth.

W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


There are a lot of walkers along this part of the road. They appear to be less out for a stroll and more about walking to a destination because they have no wheels.

W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


Along this stretch, there's a mix of retro motels, a couple of restaurants, auto repair or machine shops, and some low-cost housing.


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico
W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico





 













I was attracted to this decrepit window unit, as you can see. 


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico

The well-kept and pretty, small-town yard below is attached to a seen-better-days motel.

W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


With the surfeit of motels along this Motel Way, one wonders if there were ever a time when they all prospered. Could there have been that much road traffic through Las Cruces back in the day?

W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


I forgot to mention the used car lot. 

W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico
W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico




















A couple of guys gave us a friendly wave as I snapped the photo, but then one got a little grumpy, so we made a prudent retreat. What's the story of this place? A motel undergoing a face lift? I don't know.


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


A transmission place has a playful side.


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico



There was a bus stop shelter.


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


All that coiled cable drew my attention. 


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico


Some day, buildings like the one below will probably get torn down. It's nice to capture it here for the record. 


W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, that's not a window unit, it's locally called a "swamp cooler" or more appropriately an "evaporative cooler" for those who aren't familiar with cooling off in hot areas. Love the blog, found it this morning!

Mzuri said...

Thank you for the correction! And for the compliment! Glad you're enjoying my blog. I had the belief that swamp coolers were on the roofs, not on the sides. I'm always happy for reminders that my assumptions do not equal reality. Well. Usually happy. ;-)