Architect Helped Restore KiMo

Steven Kells, an Albuquerque architect who restored several historic New Mexico buildings, died last month of an apparent heart attack at the age of 62 during a hike in the Manzano Mountains.

Perhaps his best known project was the restoration and renovation of the KiMo Theatre in Downtown Albuquerque, a city landmark, which he completed with his firm, Kells + Craig Architects, in 2000.

The theater was built in 1927 in the “Pueblo deco” style, or art deco with Southwest Indian motifs, and earned Kells and his firm a National Preservation Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A memorial for Kells is planned for Nov. 7 at the KiMo from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Kells was born in West Virginia and attended college at the University of Cincinnati, but moved to Albuquerque in 1976 because he was so enthralled by the landscape and culture.

He formed an architecture firm with Jonathan Craig in 1984. Craig says that Kells was particularly good at reconciling New Mexico’s unique architectural history, while also practicing as a contemporary architect.

“He was respectful and appreciative of the historic architecture in New Mexico,” Craig said. “At the same time, he realized when you build in your time, you build something that is of your time.”

That was expressed in the renovation and expansion of Harwood Museum in Taos in 1997, Craig said. Kells’ firm renovated the museum, listed on the National Register for Historic Places, and built a new contemporary gallery for the minimalist artist Agnes Martin.

Ed Boles, preservation planner with the city of Albuquerque, described Kells and his firm’s work as “exemplary.”

“He was able to find ways of making necessary changes while preserving historic character, and even restoring where it had been lost,” Boles said.

Included in Kells’ contemporary architectural projects are the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, the Don Newton (Taylor Ranch) Community Center and, most recently, the Center for New Mexico Archaeology.

He died when the latter project, near Santa Fe, was almost complete. The center’s staff was moving in this week and a celebratory opening is planned for Saturday.

“That’s one of the greatest tragedies for me,” said Eric Blinman, director of the Office of Archaeological Studies. “He never got to see us move in.”

Kells combined his expertise as an architect with a longtime interest in railroad history to build a model railroad, set in a New Mexico landscape with scale model historic structures. It was partially complete when he died.

He was also an avid bicyclist and hiker with the New Mexico Mountain Club. He was preparing for a rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon in October.

He is survived by his mother, Vieva Kells, of Albuquerque.
— This article appeared on page C10 of the Albuquerque Journal