Skip to Main Content

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Center of the Universe

RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report

Address:
Yale Blvd, Albuquerque, NM
Directions:
In the center of the University of New Mexico campus. I-25 exit 225. Drive east on Lomas Blvd for around half-mile, then turn right onto Yale Blvd. Cross Las Lomas Rd and enter the campus. When the road turns left, park. Walk south through the park and pass the pond on the right. The Center will be straight ahead, between two buildings: Mitchell Hall and Ortega Hall.
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights
Center of the Universe

Set on the University of New Mexico campus, the Center is marked with a bronze disk set onto a storm grate -- so it never floods -- where five intersecting angles meet in a kind of tunnel.

Roadsideamerica.com Report...

Visitor Tips and News About Center of the Universe

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Center of the Universe.

Center of The Universe

The Center of The Universe is looking a little scuffed up since the last update!

[Krista M, 08/16/2017]

It probably receives a lot of cross-universe traffic.

Center of the Universe.

Center Of The Universe

A plaque denotes the Center Of The Universe itself, which is over a storm grate so that the center never floods.

[David Pike, 05/12/2013]

Center of the Universe.

Center of the Universe

The Center of the Universe in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

[Wm Breiland, 04/24/2011]

Center of the Universe.

Center of The Universe

A "hallway" sculpture in three dimensions -- X,Y,Z -- on the University of New Mexico Campus (near the duck pond).

[Daniel Yocum, 02/07/2007]

It's been unflatteringly compared to a bunker, and it looks like a blocky, hollow, giant concrete jumping jack. The artist, Bruce Nauman, only built it when his first piece was rejected by the Campus Planning Commission in 1986. The exact Center is a small interior grate where the five angles meet in a kind of tunnel. Be careful: UNM students like to ride their bicycles through the Center.


Nearby Offbeat Places

66 Diner and Wall o' Signs66 Diner and Wall o' Signs, Albuquerque, NM - < 1 mi.
Bug House - Spaceship HouseBug House - Spaceship House, Albuquerque, NM - < 1 mi.
Mario, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong MuralsMario, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong Murals, Albuquerque, NM - 1 mi.
In the region:
Telephone Museum of New Mexico: JFK Teletype, Albuquerque, NM - 2 mi.

Latest Tips Across Roadside America

Catch up on the latest discoveries from the road.

Explore Thousands of Oddball Tourist Attractions!

Unique destinations in the U.S. and Canada are our special obsession. Use our attraction recommendation and maps to plan your next road trip.

My Sights

My Sights on Roadside America

Create Your Own Bizarre Road Trips! ...Try My Sights

Mobile Apps

Roadside America app: iPhone, iPad Roadside America app for iPhone, iPad. On-route maps, 1,000s of photos, special research targets! ...More

Roadside Presidents app: iPhone, iPad Roadside Presidents app for iPhone, iPad. POTUS landmarks, oddities. ...More

New Mexico Latest Tips and Stories

Latest Visitor Tips

Sight of the Week

Sight of the Week

JFK's World Famous Twine Ball, Highland, Wisconsin (Mar 18-24, 2024)

SotW Archive

USA and Canada Tips and Stories

More Sightings