“One of Albuquerque’s Oldest and Most Distinguished Families”
Albuquerque Journal, August 8, 1926.As George Austin Whitcomb, a journalist seeking the cure in Albuquerque, tells it in a pseudo Albuquerque Journal article/advertisement for Monte Vista in 1926, a man named O’Conner Roberts made the first claim in 1862 on the 160 acres bounded by Carlisle and Girard on the east and west, and running from Lomas on the north to slightly south of Central and built a two room claim shanty southeast of what is now Girard and Lomas. Apparently, things didn’t pan out and Roberts relinquished his claim to Joseph F. Sulzer around 1890.
The Great House of J.F. Sulzer
Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1837 and the son of Swiss and Bavarian immigrants, Joseph F. Sulzer yearned to travel west as a child. In his early years, he found some success in general merchandise and as a local politician. With his brother, he opened a store in Kentucky which came to be known as the “Great House of J.F. Sulzer.” When his wife, Louise, fell ill and her health mandated a dryer climate, the Sulzer family headed west to Colorado and then on to New Mexico, becoming, according to advertisements by the Monte Vista Development Co, one of “Albuquerque’s most prominent families.”
Family Business
In 1889 the Sulzer Family opened a store, Carver & Sulzer, located at 119 South 2nd Street, selling glassware and china, with the family most likely living above. According to Patricia Freeman’s research for her books on the Southeast Heights neighborhoods, the Sulzer family’s retail presence in Albuquerque may have started sooner. In 1892 Frank Sulzer, one of Joseph’s sons, opened “The Fair,” located at 210 West Central, specializing in glassware, chinaware, and other items imported from Europe. Freeman noted Frank sold the store to his father in 1894.
“Nuestra Casa”
Whitcomb’s piece suggests the family originally did not intend to live full time on the Mesa, but quickly came to love its beauty and decided to make it their home. The family initially added three rooms to the claim shanty, and, by 1895, they had added 5 additional rooms and constructed a well. In 1897, Sulzer received the patent on the land, securing his ownership on the 160 acres that is now known as Monte Vista.
George Whitcomb’s article went on to describe the Sulzer home, known as “Nuestra Casa” as the most prominent land mark on the Mesa with “wide halls and shady porches,” and as an “oasis” that welcomed guests such as famous American wild animal sculptor Edward Kemeys, whose time spent at the Sulzer home inspired a verse. Two Sulzer daughters, Mabel and Grace, were also artists, and another daughter, Floy was married in the house.
Unfortunately, in 1900, Louise Sulzer died from pneumonia and in 1901, Joseph Sulzer deeded the home and property to his daughter Mabel. At some point during, Mabel deeded the 5 acres directly south of Central Avenue bounded by Girard Boulevard, Carlisle Boulevard and Silver Avenue to her brother Raymond Sulzer.
Back to City Life
Around 1908, the Sulzer family sold off the 5 acres consisting of the house, out buildings and well, keeping the remaining 150 acres. The house, and its 5 acres, passed through several hands over the next two decades, including the notorious stage actress Laura Beggar Bennett (more on her later), and the archbishop of Santa Fe (perhaps a church and school had at one point been envisioned), before returning to the family in 1923. Sadly, according to Whitcomb’s 1926 pseudo article/advertisement for Monte Vista, the original house burned at some point and the property sat vacant for several years.
Meanwhile, the Sulzer family had constructed a new home on Grand Avenue (now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard), which a 1912 ad described as “a suggestion for the attractive residences of that sort.” Joseph became more active in public service, first as a judge and, in 1912, as senator of the newly formed New Mexico State Legislature where he served for nearly a decade.
He Got the Land Back Together
After years of probate and title reconciliation, Joseph F. Sulzer managed to reconsolidate the homestead acreage on October 11, 1926, days before John Leverett filed the plat for the Monte Vista Subdivision with Bernalillo County on October 14, 1926. Interestingly, Leverett had begun to advertise lots for sale in Monte Vista a few months earlier in July. Raymond Sulzer continued to own the five acres of the tract south of Central where he operated a dance hall known as the Heights Auditorium until it burned 1936.
©️ 2026 Michelle Allison
