1954 Map of La Mesita Negra SE

About this map

Town of Atrisco Grant and Pajarito Grant dominate this mid-century landscape west of Albuquerque, showing a high desert terrain defined by historical land divisions. This 1954 survey reveals the early infrastructure of the Cold War and television era, notably the presence of a TV Tower, a Radio Relay Tower, and a CAA Beacon located near the eastern escarpment. The terrain transitions from the open plateau to the complex erosional features of El Rincon in the northwest. Industrial activity of the period is marked by several extraction sites, including Gravel Pits (Inactive) and an Oil Well (Aband), reflecting early explorations of the area's geological resources. The map captures the region's sparse development before the major suburban expansion of later decades.