Albuquerque Automobile Dealers

This photo of Ed Black's got me started on a hunt for Albuquerque Automobile Dealers. This photo is from 1966 but the building was essentially unchanged when I walked by it everyday in high school 20 years later. It's a monster Walmart now....

I recalled previously posting the photo of Motorsport on 7833 Lomas Blvd., N.E. Motorsport carried about every British car sold in the U.S. in 1959: Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, Austin-Healey, Austin, MG, Morris, Rover, Land Rover, Triumph, Hillman, Aston Martin, and, last but not least, A.C. Ace-Bristol (which later grew a Ford 260 V-8 under the hood, became the first Shelby Cobra).

I was looking for photos of the Galles Chevrolet showroom on Central & University but didn't have much luck. I recall seeing a wonderful photo with a new 50's corvette on the turntable in the showroom window. The same area now houses a huge Linux cluster for UNM's High Performance Computing department. All I could find is this photo of the travertine stonework including what I think are the Oldsmobile and Cadillac logos.

The Galles family has an interesting automotive history having been in the Albuquerque car business for over 100 years. Here are a few photos I did find.

Galles Chevrolet Tow Truck - 1939

I also found this photo inside the New Mexico Motor Corporation on 613-615 Central Avenue. The photo includes owner H.L. Galles. The photo is from 1930.

I also stumbled across some photos of Franciscan Motors, who I was not previously familiar with. The following photos were reportedly taken at their 608-610 West Central Avenue, Albuquerque New Mexico location in 1927

They evidently sold Studebaker and Erskine. Anyone recognize anything else in the photos or know anything else about Franciscan?