A corrected sign went up this week, said department spokesperson, Kimberly Gallegos.
"I do not recall this happening before," Gallegos said. "But I honestly think this was just a simple mistake."
It may have made more sense if the sign had two 'R's instead of none, as that was how it was originally spelled.
Albuquerque used to have two 'R's in its name and was spelled 'Alburquerque'.
In 1706, colonists were given permission by King Philip of Spain to create a new community on the banks of the Rio Grande, according to the city's website.
A letter from the governor of this colony, Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, told Spain's Duke of Alburquerque that it had been named La Villa de Alburquerque.
Later, the first 'R' was dropped, said the website. Now, it is spelled with just one 'R'.
Name changes in New Zealand
In New Zealand, changing place names (or reverting them to their original Maori spelling) is not uncommon and has happened far more recently in history.
As recently as December 2021, at least five locations in Aotearoa had name changes according to Toitū Te Whenua, the Government's lead agency for property and location information.
This included correcting the spelling of a creek in South Island's West Coast from Kapitea Creek to Kapitia, adding a macron to Omiha (a small populated locality on Waiheke Island), and officially giving Castle Rock in Coromandel a dual name of Motutere / Castle Rock.
