Eastridge in Albuquerque, NM

Eastridge is a mid-century subdivision in Albuquerque's Northeast Heights, laid out along the Lomas Boulevard corridor near the Manzano High School campus. Its plat carries the name of Dale Bellamah, the builder whose company put up thousands of houses across New Mexico before closing in 1989, and the streets keep the look of that period: single-story ranch homes with low shingled roofs, steel-cased front windows, a small raised entry porch, and a carport or side garage. The city recognizes an Eastridge Neighborhood Association here, one of the neighborhood associations in Council District 9.

Bellamah houses went up plainly and fast: cinder block walls, Formica counters, and the step-in tiled shower stalls the company advertised as Queen Mary showers. The plans were sold as wife-planned, a pitch aimed at the kitchen and the laundry, and the same handful of them repeat from block to block.

The Jeanne Bellamah Community Center, a city facility that shares the builder's surname, stands in the same ZIP code. Lomas Boulevard runs east and west through this stretch of the northeast quadrant and carries most of the through traffic.