ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The new mural on a historic building in the Barelas Neighborhood is officially complete.
The mural is on the old Orpheum building at Coal and Second Street. It aims to represent the vibrant community it serves by depicting traditional weddings, scenes from the local film industry, and the famous Rail Yards.
The building it’s painted on houses the organization “Homewise,” which helps people achieve their homeownership goals while benefiting the local neighborhood. Some of their work includes cleaning up abandoned houses, which often become magnets for crime.
“So we are coming in and purchasing those homes, and doing the rehabilitation work required on those homes and then reselling those homes at affordable prices to homeowners who are going to live in the community and contribute to Barelas,” Laura Altomare, a Homewise spokesperson, said.
The Orpheum building once housed one of New Mexico’s first movie theaters. Artist Denise Weaver Ross is the one who created the mural.
