Monday, March 1: Santa Fe NM

Santa Fe is compact, but there are all sorts of little alleys and side roads to wander. We got out our map and headed out for a day on the town.

The Plaza, located in the city's cultural and historic area, is considered the heart of Santa Fe. It is a square city block of urban park, tall shade trees and lots of grass. The Plaza was the core of the original settlement and today the area is full of restaurants, shops, art galleries and museums. Our hotel is right by the Plaza and this is where we started our adventures today.








The north side of the Plaza is home to the Palace of the Governors, a long, low adobe structure that is now part of the New Mexico State Museum. It has functioned continuously as a public building since it was erected in 1610 as the capitol building for the territory of Nuevo Mexico. Every day, Native American artisans spread out their crafts for sale beneath its portal. Today was cold and not many tourists in town, so the vendors were a little scarce.

The New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts is the state's oldest art museum; it features more than 23,000 works ranging from photograph to painting and sculpture, with a focus on Georgia O'Keefe and other 20th-century artists from Taos and Santa Fe. The building is a fine example of Pueblo-Revival architecture - the museum embodies what has come to be known as "Santa Fe Style."














The Georgia O'Keefe Museum, which we visited, houses the largest collection of O'Keefe works in the world. It is the only museum in the United States dedicated solely to one woman's work. O'Keefe's best-known works were inspired by the stark beauty of northern New Mexico and the museum chronicles and celebrates her long career as an artist.

O'Keefe may be the most famous, but hundreds of other painters and photographers have been drawn to Santa Fe because of its beautiful scenery and undiffused Southwestern sunlight. The city is home to untold numbers of shops and galleries.

The Oliver Hovey House was built around 1858 in the Territorial style - local adobe construction, modified by 19th-century architectural detail and use of brick. What makes this house unique is that it is actually painted brick - red brick was a rare commodity in those days and Mr. Hovey went to a lot of trouble to dress up his home.

The Padre de Gallegos House was built in 1857 in the Territorial style. Padre de Gallegos was a priest who, in the eyes of the newly-arrived Archbishop, kept too high a social profile and was therefore defrocked in 1852. It's a very large building in the traditional hacienda layout - four hallway of rooms around an open courtyard.

Prince Plaza is a former Governor's home, again built in the Territorial style. It had huge wooden gates to keep out marauding Indians. Today it houses several shops and The Shed restaurant, said to have the best barbecue in New Mexico.

Sena Plaza was one the 31-room adobe hacienda of the Sena family, built in 1831. The Territorial legislature met in the upper rooms of the hacienda in the 1890's. Today it houses several shops and a restaurant.

Speaking of restaurants, there are plenty of them and they do make liberal use of chili - when you place an order, the server asks if you want red, green or Christmas (both). Safest bet is to get it on the side - it's all HOT.

The Museum of American Indian Arts is another building constructed in the pueblo-revival style. It houses the most comprehensive collection of contemporary Native American art in the world.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is just about the ONLY building in town NOT in the adobe style. It was built in Romanesque style in the late 1800's by Archbishop Lamy, although the original parish was formed in 1610 - about the same time as the Spanish founded the city then known as La Villa Real de Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis (the Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi). The interior of the church is beautifully preserved and restored.

Nearby, the Loretto Chapel was built for the Sisters of Loretto and known for its remarkable spiral staircase. Nobody knows how it was put together or even what wood was used to build it. Legend has it that the nuns of the Loretto Chapel wished for an easier way to get to the church's second-floor choir loft. Their prayers were answered in the form of an unknown carpenter, who showed up to build the staircase using no nails, no central support and creating two full turns. The railings and the brace were added in later years, but it still is pretty amazing.

Not far along the Old Santa Fe Trail stands another sacred treasure, the San Miguel Mission Church. It was built in 1610 by Tlaxacalan Indians under the direction of the Franciscan priests. The church is made of adobe and contains deerskin Bible paintings used by missionaries in their attempts to introduce Catholicism to the Pueblo people. The mission is one of the country's oldest churches in continual use - its thick adobe walls have seen many changes - including the stone buttresses added to strengthen the structure.

Nearby is a non-descript adobe building that is said to be the oldest house in the United States. It was built in 1646, and it sure looks like it's been there a long, long time.

Last, but not least on our grand stroll around town, the State Capitol. One might expect this building to deviate from the local architectural norm, but it does not. No columns, no dome - New Mexico's state capitol is a low, circular, three-story interpretation of the Indian adobe style. Its floor plan duplicates the shape of the Zia symbol on the New Mexico state flag.

And about the weather - it was snowing when we arrived last night, but today dawned bright and sunny. As the day progressed, so did the weather - the clouds came and it's blizzard time again ....maybe we'll be snowbound in Santa Fe -- there are surely worse places to spend another day!