[3] From the bold, modernist design by William Burk, Jr. to the Park Avenue address, the new apartments were intended to show that "Albuquerque has arrived"[7] and could boast sophisticated urban living on par with larger cities.

[2] When it opened, the building had 144 one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments[4] available in seven different floorplans, each with its own balcony or lanai in the words of the promotional literature.

The apartments boasted state of the art appliances, central forced air, garbage chutes, and other conveniences, and rented for $170 to $270.

Ultimately the venture ended up losing over $500,000 and the two El Paso partners bowed out in 1966, selling their shares to Hardin for a nominal fee.

Hardin vacated his penthouse apartment in 1979 and sold the building to the Park Plaza homeowners association, which reorganized it as condominiums.

By that point, the apartments had been rearranged into all manner of floorplans, the largest of which was a five-bedroom, five-bathroom unit called the Astoria.