Breaking Bad
I watched Breaking Bad when it was on TV and while I loved it, I also felt that watching it was like experiencing one, five-season-long, panic attack. Upon repeat viewings I didn’t find it to be as stressful as I remembered, but I’m comforted by spoilers and in hindsight, 2008-2013 was a simpler time (I don’t recall worrying about the state of the world once while Obama was President).
While JMP and I were Albuquerque I casually asked her if she watched Breaking Bad and when her response was an enthusiastic “I love that show!” we decided to visit a few of the Albuquerque filming locations.
Walter and Skylar’s House
3828 Piermont Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM
The owners of this private house are not welcoming of visitors—and can you blame them after having to scrape several pizzas off their roof? They recently installed a fence (and traffic cones, security cameras and several signs) to discourage people from getting too close, so be respectful, park across the street and snap a quick photo.
The Crossroads Motel
1001 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM
Referred to as "The Crystal Palace" by Hank, The Crossroads Motel was featured several times throughout the series. In season one, Hank takes Walter Jr. to the motel to scare him by showing him the destructive power of drugs. In season two Jesse goes to the Crossroads (with its resident meth-head, Wendy) to stage an alibi and in season three Wendy shows up again, along with footage of the motel.
This stretch of Central Avenue was once Route 66 and it’s full of old motels with excellent signage (and questionable clientele) similar to The Crossroads. I’ve heard that management isn’t amenable to tourists snapping photos, but we didn’t encounter any pushback during our quick visit.
Jesse Pinkman’s House
322 16th Street SW, Albuquerque, NM
Originally owned by Jesse's Aunt Ginny, Pinkman lived here after she died, turning it into a meth lab and famously ruining the upstairs bathroom when he tried to dispose of a body in the bathtub (but ended up dissolving the floorboards along with it). He was later evicted by his parents but purchased the house back anonymously. In real life, the two-story Spanish Colonial revival house was on the market for $1.6 million in 2015.
A1 Car Wash
9516 Snow Heights Circle NE, Albuquerque, NM
In season one, Walter White works part-time at the car wash and later he and Skylar buy the entire thing to use as front for their money laundering. The car wash is still in operation, however it operates under the Mister brand so your chances of being told to “have an A1 day” are probably slim.
The Dog House
1216 Central Avenue NW, Albuquerque, NM
I could write an entire post waxing poetic about the incredible neon signage at The Dog House, an Albuquerque staple located on old Route 66 for more than 70 years. Despite being warned about the inevitable heartburn, we did eat their spicy-chili-topped footlongs and they were delicious (and thankfully, not as digestively destructive as I expected). The Dog House appears a few times in Breaking Bad, and I loved its moving signage so much that I came back to photograph it several times during our trip.
Los Pollos Hermanos
4257 Isleta Blvd, Albuquerque, NM
This Twisters location looks almost cartoonishly generic, making it the perfect place for Gus Fring’s (fictional) crystal meth front, Los Pollos Hermanos. While we didn’t go inside, apparently the interiors were filmed here as well and fans of the show have accounted for a 10% profit boost to Twisters, a New Mexican cuisine restaurant chain serving burgers and burritos.
All Dog House and second Crossroads Motel photo(s) by me, screencaps from Netflix and all other photos by JMP.
