Giant Red Arrow — Attraction in Albuquerque

It's a big fat arrow lodged in a stone & concrete base at the corner of Carlisle NE & Indian School Road. That's about the size of it (other than about 30-35 feet tip to tail not counting the base). Going out of your way for it? Best on a twofer, maybe; such as: You need a lunch break and choose Whole Foods – which is in new digs across Carlisle now where KMart used to be, but was formerly on the same lot as the Arrow north of Circle K, until 2024. Or, if you're a big fan of '60s era Paul Bunyan/Muffler Man sorta things, the Giant Red Arrow may be a highlight for you all on its own.

Since Whole Foods moved, the whole lot has been fenced off & 'patrolled' by 24-hr rent-a-cops lumpily lodged in a vehicle like fat bullfrogs, although you might get lucky on-lot access if some seasonal retail outfit utilizes the old Whole Foods space like Spirit Halloween did for...

The name of the shopping center is Indian Plaza, built in 1961. The owner/developer/builder had a logo featuring a smiling Paiute Indian holding a large spear-like red arrow stuck in the ground at his feet. Thus was the 1960s. His uncle had the idea of a sign shaped like the arrow, lettered at the feathers and outlined in neon, which it was for many years. Decades later (after the neon was gone), I "spearheaded" the idea of making it an official landmark so it wouldn't be torn down. The neighbors didn't object, so ta da, there it is...as long as the Grass Grows and the Wind Blows and Albuquerque still glows. Redone with LED it could be restored to the original, which I think would be...

I grew up down the street from the Arrow and saw it everyday. My mom tells me that the arrow has been there since 1961, when the shopping center behind it was built and named Indian Plaza. Google tells me that the arrow was not directly related to the naming of the shipping center; the son of the original developer says the red arrow was a logo used by his dad’s company, American Builders, and they used the red arrow logo on billboards all over town. They figured a real arrow, supersized, on a quiet corner of what was then the outskirts of the city would...