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Tours

1. UNM History through Trees - Tour C

   Stops

   1. UNM History through Trees - Tour C Start

      Stop 1: Start

      Stop 2: Weeping Mulberry (Morus alba)

      Stop 3: Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

      Stop 4: Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

      Stop 5: Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

      Stop 6: Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)

      Stop 7: London Plane Tree (Platanus x acerifolia)

      Stop 8: Austrian Pine (Pinus nigra)

      Stop 9: Velvet Ash (Fraxinus velutina 'Modesto')

      Stop 10: Fremont's Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)

      Stop 11: London Plane Tree (Platanus x acerifolia)

      Stop 12: Japanese Pagoda Tree (Sophora japonica)

      Stop 13: Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)

      Stop 14: Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)

      Stop 15: Fremont's Cottonwood (Populus fremontii) 

   2. Weeping Mulberry

      Common Name: Weeping Mulberry 

      Botanic Name: Morus alba 

       

      The College of Education complex represents the most dramatic modernist expression of Phase III of the Spanish-Pueblo Revival style. The architecture, inspired by an eclectic mix of ancient Pueblo designs and the Bauhaus school of the 1950s, featured massive sloping walls of pre-cast concrete with steel and glass curtain walls and interior courtyards. Exterior courts are formed by the placement of buildings linked by landscaped walkways. The buildings were finished with earth-colored stucco that complemented nearby buildings of more traditional regional design. The College of Education complex's award-winning design set the stage for other campus buildings to be constructed with innovative forms and materials, while still paying homage to the Spanish-Pueblo Revival style. Travelstead Hall, completed in 1963, is named after Chester C. Travelstead, Dean of the College of Education and first Provost, 1956-77 (Gugliotta, 2006). Travelstead Hall is famous for its stained-glass wall as well as the plant palette incorporating trees and shrubs originally from Asia. 

       

      Reference:  

      Terry Gugliotta, PI, “Campus Heritage Preservation Survey: The University of New Mexico,” (December 2006), https://historicpreservation.unm.edu/preservation-plan/historic-preservation-plan.pdf 

   3. Honey Locust

      Common Name: Honey Locust 

      Botanic Name: Gleditsia triacanthos 

       

      This women’s dormitory building was opened for the fall semester in 1956 and is named after the first Hokona Hall built 50 years earlier and demolished in the early 1960s. The building was constructed in response to increasing enrollments in the 1950s and continued the trend of building residence halls on the northeast side of campus. The building featured two wings: the west wing, named “Zuni,” was for females, while the east wing, “Zia,” housed male students. Both wings shared a common dining area located in the center of the building. In the 1990s, the Zuni wing was remodeled into office space for the College of Education, and later become home of the UNM Police Department, while the Zia wing still functions as a co-ed dormitory. During the remodeling of the Zuni wing, a new entrance was created by cutting through a former dorm room in the building’s southwest corner. New anodized aluminum windows were added in the mid-1990s. Other than these modifications, the building has had only minor changes to its exterior appearance (Gugliotta, 2006). 

       

      Reference:  

      Terry Gugliotta, PI, “Campus Heritage Preservation Survey: The University of New Mexico,” (December 2006), https://historicpreservation.unm.edu/preservation-plan/historic-preservation-plan.pdf 

   4. Honey Locust

      Common Name: Honey Locust 

      Botanic Name: Gleditsia triacanthos 

       

      Surrounded by College of Education buildings, the courtyard is a simple concept: two main cross axial paths. The primary axis extends from the Cornell Mall landscape, changing in elevation toward the administration building. The secondary axis is a shading trellis that leads to the Kiva assembly building. Designed in 1963 by landscape architect Garrett Eckbo and Flatow, Moore, Bryan and Fairburn Architects, this landscape includes a series of low wall, concrete planters and a cross-axial trellis. The design is a unique representation of 1960s architecture and landscape architecture. The trellis represents a technological shift in construction technique from traditional wooden trellises, using pre-cast concrete and poured in place concrete to form landscape and structural elements. The complex represents the era of university and civic landscape types of the 1960s. In the January 1960 issue of Architectural Review, profiles noted civic and university complexes. Exterior courts are formed by the placement of buildings and interior courts created within the building itself. A quality of space is apparent, and the predominant use of pre-cast concrete conveys the era of modernism. Finally, the landscape and the complex of buildings are also reminiscent of form and rational space planning of the 1960s (Gugliotta, 2006). 

       

      Reference:  

      Terry Gugliotta, PI, “Campus Heritage Preservation Survey: The University of New Mexico,” (December 2006), https://historicpreservation.unm.edu/preservation-plan/historic-preservation-plan.pdf 

   5. Honey Locust

      Common Name: Honey Locust 

      Botanic Name: Gleditsia triacanthos 

       

      The Honey Locust and its companion planters to the west are not included in the original architectural and landscape plans, but are clearly visible in the 1974 aerial photo, ten years later. There is no clear reason for the change, although it still retained the plant material called out in the original plan: Gleditsia triacanthos. 

   6. Mimosa

      Common Name: Mimosa 

      Botanic Name: Albizia julibrissin 

       

      Cornell Mall is the major pedestrian entry to the campus and is the most familiar to the wider Albuquerque community since it serves the major public spaces of Popejoy Hall and the Fine Arts Museum. The mall extends from the College of Education fountain on the north to Central Avenue on the south. It serves the Student Union Building, Mesa Vista Hall, University College, the Center for the Arts, the Bookstore, and George Pearl Hall. It opens slightly to the east near Johnson Gym to People’s Park, a shady grassed area that was the scene of a demonstration to preserve the grassy area. Cornell Mall was also the scene of the student demonstrations against U.S. troops in Vietnam. The National Guard entered the campus when students declared a strike in protest of the Kent State killings on May 4, 1970. The Mall as open space is punctuated with large circles of varying diameter: today there are five in all. These circles are planted with turf and one includes the largest weeping willow on campus. Other important features include sculptures by Betty Sabo and Luis Jimenez (Gugliotta, 2006). 

       

      Reference:  

      Terry Gugliotta, PI, “Campus Heritage Preservation Survey: The University of New Mexico,” (December 2006), https://historicpreservation.unm.edu/preservation-plan/historic-preservation-plan.pdf 

   7. London Plane Tree

      Common Name: London Plane Tree 

      Botanic Name: Platanus x acerifolia 

       

      The University realized that with the new Zimmerman Library entrance facing south, this space would become one of the most heavily trafficked areas on the campus. It was for this reason that it was decided to create a hardscaped plaza. For many, the plaza (Smith Plaza) seemed out of scale--too large for the buildings around it. The solution was to add London Plane trees to help move the edges in and try to shrink the vast feeling of the space (Gugliotta, 2006). The London Plane trees are visible on the left in each of the photos and visually connect Smith Plaza with Union Plaza, located at the top of the stairs. 

       

      Reference:  

      Terry Gugliotta, PI, “Campus Heritage Preservation Survey: The University of New Mexico,” (December 2006), https://historicpreservation.unm.edu/preservation-plan/historic-preservation-plan.pdf 

   8. Austrian Pine

      Common Name: Austrian Pine 

      Botanic Name: Pinus nigra 

       

      Mesa Vista Hall was built as a men’s dormitory and dining hall and housed up to 400 students. It was designed in the late 1940s to meet the needs of a rapidly increasing student population, the majority of who were entering the university under provisions of the G.I. Bill. The building was designed by Edward Holien of John Gaw Meem – Hugo Zehner and Associates and features many classic Spanish-Pueblo Revival details used in structures he designed in the 1930s for the University. It was one of Meem’s largest University buildings and was sited prominently at the corner of Ash Street and Cornell Drive (prior to their closure), thus anchoring the northeast corner of the campus plan and initiating the move of residence halls to the east side of campus. In 1974, the dormitory was closed and the interior space remodeled for offices. In 1983, a new Student Services Building was constructed on the northeast side of Mesa Vista Hall and the two buildings were connected. At the same time, the original main entryway to Mesa Vista (designed in the style of a zaguan, which led to the residence hall lobby) was cut through the building to provide access to the new Student Services Building from Cornell Mall. Although this has been the most significant exterior modification to Mesa Vista, it detracts only slightly from the building’s original design. As such, the structure retains its architectural integrity.  

   9. Velvet Ash

      Common Name: Velvet Ash 

      Botanic Name: Fraxinus velutina 'Modesto' 

       

      The photo from 1984 shows the newly constructed University Advisement & Enrichment Center (constructed 1983, formerly known as the Student Services Center). The building houses a number of programs and the office of the Dean of Students. 

   10. Fremont's Cottonwood

       Common Name: Fremont's Cottonwood 

       Botanic Name: Populus fremontii 

        

       Johnson Gymnasium is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena at UNM. It opened in 1957 and served as the home venue for the New Mexico Lobos basketball team until The Pit opened in 1966. The gym is named after former Lobos basketball coach Roy Johnson. 

        

       The gym was most recently renovated from 2018 to 2020 with a LEED Gold addition. The archival image shows the area between SHAC (Student Health and Counseling) and Johnson Gym. The archive did not have an exact date for the image, listing it as the “1980s”. The cottonwood tree is just within the picture frame and highlighted. The image was chosen to illustrate how much the UNM campus continues to evolve, yet how much remains the same.

   11. London Plane Tree

       Common Name: London Plane Tree 

       Botanic Name: Platanus x acerifolia 

        

       Johnson Gymnasium is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the campus of the University of New Mexico. It opened in 1957 and was the home venue of the New Mexico Lobos basketball team until The Pit opened in 1966. Today, Johnson Gymnasium is the home floor for the Lobo volleyball team. The gym is named after former Lobos basketball coach, Roy Johnson. There have been major changes since the gym’s construction. Johnson Gymnasium had a parking lot directly in front of the building, right off Central Avenue, which is now a passage to either side. The UNM Lobo statue that is in front of the building is in the same place as it was when the Johnson Gym opened, despite the drastic change in surroundings. The area surrounding the building has changed nominally, but there has not been much physical change to the actual building itself. Instead, the university constructed other buildings around the original Johnson Gymnasium and attached them alongside the gym. Many of these changes were made to accommodate the increasing population, such as the nearby parking garage that this entrance now primarily leads to (UNM, n.d.). The Johnson Center Expansion & Renovation (JCER) Project included new construction, demolition, and partial renovation of the existing 300,000 square foot Johnson Center. Spaces in the new addition include new weight training and cardio fitness, indoor running, walking track, indoor cycling, the Bike and Outdoor Adventures Shop, and a new east entrance with lobby, social spaces, and exterior site amenities (UNM FDC, n.d.). 

        

       References: 

       University of New Mexico (UNM), n.d., “Johnson Gym – Then and Now” in UNM Over the Years: People, Places and Events, https://timeline.unm.edu/item/johnson-gym---then-and-now.html 

        

       UNM Facilities Design and Construction (FDC), n.d., “Johnson Center Expansion & Renovation,” https://fdc.unm.edu/projects/johnson-center-expansion-renovation/index.html  

   12. Japanese Pagoda Tree

       Common Name: Japanese Pagoda Tree 

       Botanic Name: Sophora japonica 

        

       Popejoy Hall opened in 1966 after years of conflict regarding its creation. It is named after Tom Popejoy, who spent almost all of his twenty years as President of the University of New Mexico trying to get a performance art hall built on campus. Popejoy Hall’s founding was a turning point for the University of New Mexico because of its impact on the State by bringing Broadway and other first-rate theatrical productions to its residents. Popejoy Hall seats almost 2,000 people and is the largest venue of its kind in New Mexico. In the years leading up to building Popejoy Hall, the City of Albuquerque considered multiple plans that were all eventually abandoned. The auditorium the University was planning to build was supposed to seat 2,000 people, which was much too small for Albuquerque Mayor Clyde Tingley, who wanted one that seated 7,000. In 1953, the City of Albuquerque formally requested a site be built at Central Avenue and Cornell Drive for the concert hall. The University Regents initially agreed, however; their resignations shortly thereafter delayed the building breaking ground. Eventually, the City of Albuquerque and the University of New Mexico went their separate ways. The city sought to build a sports arena and the University pursued the arts by planning a performance arts and concert venue. President Popejoy worked tirelessly for another ten years to raise the $2.5 million it took to build the performance hall. Finally, on October 1, 1966, the UNM concert hall that would eventually be given his name officially opened (UNM, n.d.). 

        

       Reference: 

       University of New Mexico (UNM), n.d., “Popejoy Hall,” in “UNM Over the Years: People, Places, and Events,” https://timeline.unm.edu/item/popejoy-hall.html

   13. Mimosa

       Common Name: Mimosa 

       Botanic Name: Albizia julibrissin 

        

       Excerpts taken from Beaudet, 2021: In May 1970, protests on college campuses erupted in opposition expansion of the Vietnam war. In response to social unrest, on May 4 the Ohio National Guard killed four students at Kent State.  

        

       UNM students were also protesting. Ferrel Heady, the President of UNM, considered closing the campus. In response, students occupied the Student Union Building (SUB).  

        

       On Friday, May 8, 1970, in a conference call among regents with President Heady in attendance, the Regents agreed to file in court for the removal of the students from the SUB, citing threats of damage to the building. However, later in the day, the Regents and President Heady came to an agreement allowing the SUB to continue to be open with the protesters; however, a miscommunication ensued with law enforcement officers, who never got the message. 

        

       While many protesters cleared out after they heard about the court order, 131 protesters stayed. At 6pm, State Police Chief Martin Vigil called up the National Guard. Vigil then entered the SUB, read aloud the order of the court, and then ordered the National Guard to clear out the occupiers. All 131 protestors were arrested, along with 11 individuals who were bayonetted, one of whom included KOB correspondent Bill Norlander. 

        

       Professor Leonardo Garcia-Bunuel, who was the physician on duty, and his team of medical student volunteers and ex-medics from Vietnam, gave the 11 injured participants care in a makeshift trauma unit in the Zimmerman Library. The melee in the SUB was so chaotic that the stretcher bearers were almost bayonetted themselves. 

        

       The following week, all 131 occupants were charged with Criminal Trespassing, with 20 of them additionally charged with contempt of court for violating a court order.  

        

       The following day, on Saturday, May 9, an emergency Faculty Senate Meeting was called to order by President Heady. In an atypical nearly five-hour session, the faculty struggled with how to resolve the situation on campus. Most faculty supported and made motions to denounce the deployment of the Guard. Some argued about issuing a denouncement of the student occupiers who defied the order; some cheered at their courage. 

        

       Reference:  

       Christopher Beaudet, 2021, “ Eleven Bayonetted and 131 Arrested at Student Union Building,” in “UNM Over the Years: People, Places, and Events,” https://timeline.unm.edu/item/eleven-bayonetted-and-131-arrested-at-student-union-building.html 

   14. Mimosa

       Common Name: Mimosa 

       Botanic Name: Albizia julibrissin 

        

       Union Square (mid-1960s, named for the Student Union Building) consists of a grid of Sycamore trees in raised planters. The paving is concrete with light-colored bricks highlighting the grid. Just north of the Student Union Building, the square consists of a grid of nine planters with London Plane trees and India Hawthorne. The cool shade of the London Plane trees creates a space for circulation, sitting, and socializing. This area is an important transition space between Smith Plaza and Cornell Mall (Gugliotta, 2006). 

        Reference:  

       Terry Gugliotta, PI, “Campus Heritage Preservation Survey: The University of New Mexico,” (December 2006), https://historicpreservation.unm.edu/preservation-plan/historic-preservation-plan.pdf 

   15. Fremont's Cottonwood

       Common Name: Fremont's Cottonwood 

       Botanic Name: Populus fremontii 

        

       Excerpt taken from Beaudet, 2021: “Well into the Vietnam war, the social tension was palpable in the Spring of 1970. The 1968 election of President Nixon was meant to bring an end to the war that was still raging two years later. In a decision meant to end the war in Vietnam from a supposed position of strength, on April 31st, 1970, Nixon ordered the invasion of Cambodia on the pretext of communist supply lines and troop movements through the Cambodian side of the jungle. 

        

       However, to the public, this invasion seemed like an escalation. For the days of May 1st to May 3rd, protests on college campuses erupted in opposition to the violation of Cambodian sovereignty and the continuation, and now, expansion of the Vietnam War. In response to social unrest, on May 4th the Ohio National Guard was called to Kent State, killing four students. 

        

       At UNM, students were also protesting. Jane Fonda, a famous anti-war protester, visited UNM campus to help students organize. She joined students on Tuesday May 5th for the march on Heady’s house at midnight. On Wednesday May 6th, there was a strike of mourning dedicated to the victims of Kent State by both students and faculty. Ferrel Heady, the President of UNM, wondered if closing the campus would be necessary considering a violent protest that had broken out at the flagpole at the Stanford Street entrance the same day, resulting in the stabbings of three students. In response, at about 3pm, students occupied the Student Union Building due to the feeling of having their voice being censured."  

        

       Reference:  

       Christopher Beaudet, 2021, “ Eleven Bayonetted and 131 Arrested at Student Union Building,” in “UNM Over the Years: People, Places, and Events,” https://timeline.unm.edu/item/eleven-bayonetted-and-131-arrested-at-student-union-building.html