In front of you spreads a Spanish-Pueblo Revival compound known today as Casas de Suenos Old Town Country Inn, the J. R. Willis House and La Miradora Apartments, tucked into Albuquerque, New Mexico. The home and studio were built here by H. W. Balay for artist J. R. Willis in 1938, and the adjacent apartments rose between 1938 and 1954. Willis, a photographer and artist best known for his Indian photographs and paintings and Southwestern landscapes, lived and worked in this house and studio through his death in December, 1960.
The group was recognized and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The most distinguishing feature you can spot is the Hanna Studio Addition, the so-called "Snail House," which bridges the open space between the Willis House and studio; it was completed in 1978, well after the period of significance and is not part of the historic designation. Stand here and imagine the work of a photographer and painter that once filled these rooms, the steady presence of an artist shaping how the Southwest was seen.
House, studio, the Snail House bridging them, and the row of apartments make up one Spanish-Pueblo Revival ensemble.