This aerial view of part of “downtown” Corrales was taken in 1959 by Corrales resident and professional photographer Dick Kent.  East and west of downtown has changed dramatically  —few fields and orchards are left.  But… the center of Corrales hasn’t changed all that much.  Every one of the buildings in the photograph, except for the elementary school, is —wonder of wonders— still standing! 

Across from the school, the white store (I think its name then was the  Corrales Country Store) was absorbed into what later became Mercado de Maya.  Orlie Wagner owned  the property and in 1960 he added onto the store building to the south to house Chase Hardware.  He had already built an adjoining building to the north, giving Corrales its first (and only) strip mall.  The grocery store is now the Bosque Gallery.

The village is incredibly fortunate that so many of these buildings remain and that the changes to them have been minimal. Many of us moved to Corrales because it was a small town with a long history. Our small downtown can still tell much of the village’s story, its small scale and buildings bespeak its history.  

The Tijuana Bar offers a reassuring continuity:  it has been standing for well over 100 years and, wonderfully and amazingly, it is still owned by the family that owned it over 70 years ago.  It is in the photograph  at the left side, just opposite Perea Hall and the old Martinez House that still stands, even though it is precariously less than five feet from Corrales Road.

Casa Vieja, at far left,  keeps its adobe charm and holds hundreds of memories from its years as  the home of the Martinez family, as the Moretto Store, as the home of the Harrington family who restored it, and as the fabled Casa Vieja restaurant owned by the Bentleys. Its 1950s swimming pool (many memories there) can be seen to its west.  

The old school house just north of the Tijuana Bar still stands and hopefully will one day be restored.  North of these buildings, the entire row of small houses is still there —several thoughtfully restored and others waiting for new life.  

El Portal, the large building across from the country store holds so many  Corrales memories: the Lopez store, a dance hall and saloon, the Maddox and Works grocery store, the beginning of the Adobe Theater and an early home for the Corrales Art Association.  It too has been thoughtfully restored.

Just  to the right  of the old Sandoval Elementary —perhaps more vividly remembered by more long time Corrales residents than any other structure in the Village— are two small buildings east of the firehouse/library by Corrales Road.  What are these buildings? What was their use?  If anyone knows, please call me at 898-5017 or e-mail at

This photo helps us date buildings such as Grizz Carley’s archery shop and gallery plus two box cars and the old Abajo Depot.  The land where they now stand is shown as the vacant lot across from Nat Gifford’s house north of the school. I believe this complex must have been built soon after the photo was taken. Again, if anyone knows about the history of  these buildings, please call me.  Many of us remember the largest building as the Corrales Inn operated by 1980s Mayor Laura Warren and Mary Briault.

There is so much history here, even in this small village. There’s Prized Possessions, built by villagers in 1911 as a community gathering place, and remembered also as a cannery and Hoffhein’s Garage.  

And Perea Hall, scene of political battles, dances, Christmas plays, heated discussion about the future of Corrales,  and the first Fireman’s Ball to raise funds for the volunteer fire department.  

Not far south, but not in the photo, is the Alejandro Gonzales House, home of an innovative and well known Corrales farmer and later home to Andrew Nagen’s Los Colores textile museum. 

I don’t want to write so much that the editor can’t run the photograph large enough for readers to identify at least some of the buildings.  So I’ll stop.  Any and all information about these buildings and others in the commercial area is most welcome.  Please call 898-5017 or e-mail me (mpdavis69 @gmail.com) if you want to share  your memories.