The Castle - continued
- Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Apr 6
- 4 min read
Okay, so last time I had started talking about the “Castle,” the enormous building in Downtown Albuquerque, and Gertrude Zachary, the jewelry entrepreneur. I had just left off with her having made her fortune, and deciding she wanted to build a home for herself.
And that home would be...the Castle. Or, maybe more precisely, the Château.
About the photos: First, a shot from the interior of the Museum. Ms. Zachary collected religious art, and I believe this is one of the pieces she left in the Castle. Second, another exterior of the Castle itself. And, finally, Martha having a bit of breakfast at the Flying Star Cafe on Central in Albuquerque -- one of our favs. Give it a visit if you can.
I remember the first day I saw it. You’ll recall I was driving back from visiting my Dad in the hospital...which gives the memory a certain melancholy.
I remember being stunned by the thing. I’d never seen it before, but I assumed it was old...dating back to the 1930s...and that I’d just somehow missed it in all the years that I’d lived in Albuquerque as a boy. I remember thinking too that it wasn’t exactly attractive...at least not according to my tastes. It seemed over-busy, and out of place. Also, it was painted a dull gray. That made it look more like a real French Château, but I didn’t find it an attractive color. Plus, there were high walls and barbed wire all around it, which it needed given its location...but it wasn’t exactly a charming view.
I told myself I’d have to find out more about it someday...but, things got busy, and I never did.
Until, that is, I started researching the Turquoise Museum. That’s when I found out about Gertrude Zachary, and her curious home. This was the house, I learned, that she’d elected to build...here, not in the suburbs, or out on the West Mesa or near the mountains...but here, Downtown. And this was the way she’d wanted it to look...like something out of Eyes Wide Shut, or one of the innumerable French mysteries that Martha and I have taken to streaming on CascadePBS.(1)
Why she picked that particular style, and why that particular place, remains a total mystery to me. I gather it’s been a sort of mystery to everyone else as well, both now and then. In one article, in the now defunct newspaper, the Albuquerque Tribune, Ms. Zachary did offer some background. Thus, why this particular neighborhood? Because “I love Downtown, probably because I was raised in bigger cities.” Why a castle? “I spent a lot of time in Europe, and it just reminds me of Europe. It is things I’ve seen that I put together.”(2)
And, well, why not? If that’s what she wanted, and she could afford it, and she wasn’t making life difficult for anyone else...why shouldn’t she have it?
Anyway, she built the place...and it was a bit of a wonder. It even drew the attention of the Wall Street Journal, which did a (not particularly flattering) article about it. Among other things, the writer described the property as “Looming over a barren industrial neighborhood locals call skid row, stands Gertrude Zachary’s castle.”(3) Some of Albuquerque’s defenders were not particularly pleased by that. For one thing, they pointed out, the neighborhood may be a bit rough around the edges, but nobody called it “Skid Row.”(4)
In any case, Ms. Zachary got her “castle” and lived there for some time. Sadly, she passed on in 2013, so perhaps she didn’t get as many years there as she might have wanted. Still, better some than none.
Okay, the Castle seems to have gone into hibernation after that. None of Ms. Zachary’s heirs appeared to want to move in. And no one could figure out what the heck to do with the place. So, it sat...a monument to Ms. Zachary....and a bewilderment to dim-witted travelers like myself.
Time passed. And then ...and then!...the Turquoise Museum ...
But...wait.
Before we get to that, I have to talk about something else.
To wit, the Zachary Dynasty.
And its great, abiding, consuming ...passion...
For turquoise.
More to come.
Footnotes;
1. We watch them with English subtitles, of course. We’re not *that* good at French. Or at least I’m not. Martha’s a bit better. Among our favs at the moment is _Murder In Paris_ (originally _Profilage_). Definitely give it a look if you get a chance. See it’s IMDB entry here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1418572/
2. Quotes from “Article in The Albuquerque Tribune: A castle in the Duke City,” January 8, 2007 by tumo, Albuquerque Tribune, https://hellotumo.com/typings/freeform/article-in-the-albuquerque-tribune-a-castle-in-the-duke-city/.
3. The article in question was, “The Castle on Skid Row: Antiques collector Gertrude Zachary built her dream house, a Paris-inspired estate, in a derelict part of Albuquerque, N.M., as a showcase for her religious art and stained-glass windows,” by Julia Flynn Siler, Dec 31, 2010, Wall Street Journal. I’ve not read the article because it is behind a paywall and I don’t want to subscribe to the WSJ for a year just to see it. However, if you already have a subscription, you can see the story here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703909904576051950137854170
4. See, for instance, “Wall Street Journal Gets Wind Of Gertrude Zachary’s Castle” Marisa Demarco, Weekly Alibi, Jan 20, 2011, https://alibi.com/blog/wall-street-journal-gets-wind-of-gertrude-zacharys-castle/
And for a similar piece, see “Welcome to Gertrude Zacharys Downtown Parisian Castle,” Chris Lucas, Friday July 16, 2021, https://www.chrislucasabq.com/post/welcome-to-gertrude-zachary-s-downtown-parisian-castle
5. See “Jeweler Gertrude Zachary dies,” Jan 31, 2013, KOAT TV. https://www.koat.com/article/jeweler-gertrude-zachary-dies/5045611
Copyright©2025 Michael Jay Tucker
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