Historical landmark coming down

ALBUQUERUQUE (KRQE) - A piece of history nestled in Albuquerque’s University Heights is about to leveled, but it’s not all going to the dump.

The Werner Gilchrist House at Silver and Cornell SE is said to be the first suburban house in Albuquerque. The house, named for Laura Werner and her son-in-law Ralph Gilchrist who built the home, led to the development onto the arid east mesa.

Werner’s daughter lived in the house, now listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an official Albuquerque historical landmark, for 73 years until her death in 1981.

And that’s when the house began to fall apart. Holes in the aged roof allowed the elements to seep in and weaken the structure. The house was dilapidated and started to attract transients and lots of graffiti.

"It's just kind of a creepy place," said neighbor Joshua Brenden.

Jim Trump bought the property in 2005 with big plans to upgrade the home, but several redevelopment plans for the house or the property and even a bid to eventually demolish the home were shot down by the neighborhood association or the city.

"The hurdles are pretty hard in today's economy to renovate an old existing property," Trump said.

Because of safety concerns in September 2011 the city, with the support of Mayor Richard J. Berry, approved a demolition permit.  Llast Saturday Trump brought in the wrecking crews.

"It has a constant flow of vandalism, damage by the weather," Trump said.  "It has just been deteriorating every single day."

The city condemned the house in February 2010.

The owner spent more than $100,000 to secure the property and fence it off, but the riff-raff continued to break in.

And the historical landmark has sadly become a big eyesore for the neighborhood.

Although not everyone is pleased that the home is coming down, Michael Henderson told News 13 he was heartbroken over the demolition.

Henderson tried to buy the property six years ago but was outbid by Trump.

"I think it's a real disappointment that people let things like this happen because this is a piece of history," he said. "When a home like this is taken out of a community it really tears the community apart."

But while the home will be torn apart, not all the materials will be tossed. University of New Mexico architecture students are saving the old wood beams, joists, redwood floors and adobe blocks.

"On site, the demolition contractor is separating out the waste, so we're diverting the waste from the landfill and taking that wood to a local place in the South Valley that makes wood pellets," said graduate student Hilary Noll.

Other parts of the historic house will be bused for future construction projects by Habitat for Humanity. Items such as old doors, cabinets and even a former window will be moved to UNM for an art installation in the spring.

Still, most the materials are too old or damaged to reuse and will be tossed.

Trump approached the producers of Breaking Bad, who have filmed in the house before, to see if they wanted to blow the house up for a scene in their show. He also asked the fire department if firefighters wanted to use the building for training.

Both turned him down.

And in a matter of days the historic home and its history will be gone. Old memories and photos will be the only thing left.

Trump has not decided what to do with the property once the house is torn down.