Central at Louisiana seems to be going sharply downhill. The airport to the southwest generates a great deal of noise, rattling the few windowpanes that aren't already boarded over. The buildings are almost uniformly in very poor condition; most of them are faded commercial establishments that were constructed, poorly, during Central Avenue's boom days, only to fold into decrepitude a few decades later. Scattered amongst still-flourishing fast food joints are pornographic bookstores and movie houses; prostitutes mingle with commuters at a nearby bus stop.
To the northwest, the New Mexico State Fairgrounds can be seen, behind an eight foot tall chain-link fence. Most people heading to the Fairgrounds just drive through this area; a few are foolhardy enough to trust their vehicles to one of several disreputable-looking pay parking lots. There are a number of local types just hanging around, smoking, eyeing passersby warily, sometimes approaching and talking to them.