Take the Off-Ramp with Nick Gerlich: Breaking Burque

Normally in TV and film, the A-list actors get their names in large fonts, with everyone else scrolling by, barely visible. At the end of the closing credits, a small note might thank a city for their cooperation in filming.

But rare is the day when a city becomes an uncredited cast member as important as the stars. Vince Gilligan pulled that off in Breaking Bad and Albuquerque. As creator, primary writer and executive producer of the series, as well as its prequel Better Call Saul, Gilligan made the Duke City a star in its own right.

The result is a destination filming location that attracts thousands of visitors each year who want to see the houses, businesses and other iconic structures that appeared in both series. It has spawned two businesses, the Breaking Bad Store ABQ (2047 S. Plaza St. NW) and Breaking Bad RV Tours (breakingbadrvtoursabq.com).

At only four hours from Amarillo, Albuquerque is an easy getaway to do some location stalking of your own. Take your pick. Choose the organized RV tour, conducted in a vintage early-’80s motorhome just like the one seen in the show, or craft your own using my custom map. (Nick’s map.)

Perhaps the most iconic of locations is the Walter White house (3828 Piermont Drive NE). Little did the owners know in 2007, when filming began, that their house would become a pop culture icon. They have since had to erect iron fencing to keep people off the property, and from tossing a pizza onto the roof (as seen in Season 3, Episode 2).

An important thing to remember is that while these locations are iconic, most were only used for exterior shots. A soundstage at Q Studios was used for interior shots. There are exceptions, though, like the famous Los Pollos Hermanos (Twisters Burgers and Burritos in real life, 4275 Isleta Blvd. SW), where ruthless drug kingpin Gus Fring ostensibly worked a legit job serving chicken. The food is great at Twisters, and there’s a great Los Pollos photo op on the wall.

Speaking of Gus, he “lived” in the house located at 1213 Jefferson St. NE where he was the sole resident, practicing his culinary skills. Again, only the exterior was used.

But the car wash where Walt moonlighted—and which he and wife Skyler later bought—was used inside and out for filming. Originally part of the Octopus chain, it was the A1 Car Wash in the show. It is now a Mister Car Wash (9516 Snow Heights Circle NE), and sells Breaking Bad items to visitors. Get your car washed and have an A1 day.

Walt and Jesse got their start at a remote location in To’hajiilee, a community in the Navajo Nation. Access is by I-40 West, a paved road north, and then dirt roads. Multiple scenes in both the early and late episodes of Breaking Bad were filmed there. Punch these GPS coordinates into your mapping app for directions: 35.10218, -107.13706.

Then there’s Jesse and the large house he inherited from his aunt (322 16th St. SW). The grisly basement and bathtub scenes were shot on a soundstage, but it’s hard not to associate them with the actual house. The same goes for the duplex at 323 Terrace St. SE that Jesse shared with Jane in Season 2, where Walter watched her die.

The Super Lab in which Walter and Jesse cooked meth was supposedly a subterranean complex beneath a commercial laundry. In this case, the building exteriors used in filming were actually a commercial laundry (1617 Candelaria Rd. NE). 

At the corner of Central Ave. NE and I-25 is the Crossroads Motel, which brother-in-law Hank Shrader called The Crystal Palace. It was a hub of illegal activity, and where Wendy the streetwalker hung out. 

As the series wound down, Walt and Saul Goodman sought the services of “The Fixer,” a man who ran a vacuum repair shop (2714 Fourth St. NW)  as a cover for his big money exploits in creating new identities. The arranged meetings were at the John B. Robert Dam at the intersection of Osuna and Juan Tabo on the northeast side of town.

Sadly, the passage of time has not been good for fans, because several filming locations have been torn down. The Denny’s in which Walt found himself after returning from New Hampshire was torn down for a small strip shopping center. The Nazi Compound has long been demolished.

All of this makes for a great weekend escape into the fantasy land of TV. I recommend hotels near the airport. Hit the breweries for more fun. And buy a pork pie hat at the Breaking Bad store to put on your best Heisenberg look.