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What
to See & Do
| The
Plaza
| Historic
Districts
Museums
| Where
to Stay
Before
a single Englishman had set foot in the American West --
before the landing at Plymouth Rock -- Santa Fe was a
capital city. For more than 380 years, this unique
community has been a center of culture and government:
first as the capital of the Spanish Kingdom of New
Mexico, then as the Mexican province of Nuevo Mejico,
and, since 1912, the State of New Mexico.
The
cultural life of Santa Feans has been developing since
the laying-out of the city in 1610 over the ruins of the
Kaupoge Indian pueblo. Today, Santa Fe is the most
desired vacation destination in all of the United States,
and what draws visitors here is its symbiosis of the
three dominating cultures: Indian, Spanish/Mexican, and
Anglo. What surprises many visitors to Santa Fe is that
this Southwest city is a mountain community. There are no
cacti in Santa Fe except for those imported for garden
landscaping. Situated at an elevation of 7,000 feet, at
the southern edge of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (the
southernmost Rockies), the city is also at the edge of
supreme outdoor adventure.
What
to See & Do
The
Santa Fe Ski Basin is a half-hour's drive from downtown.
North of the city is a land made for hikers, backpackers,
and river rafters.
The
modern big-city ambience of Albuquerque is an hour to the
south. The small-town art community of Taos is an hour to
the north. Within a day's travel of Santa Fe are most of
the notable Indian pueblos in New Mexico -- a continuing
cultural presence in this fast-changing state. More than
20 Pueblo villages are within a 2-hour drive, and many
exhibit a way of life which has been intact for 800
years.
There
are two cultural sub areas that make Santa Fe -- to us
and many other visitors -- the most appealing city in the
nation: architecture and food. The unique style of
building called Santa Fe Style, or Pueblo, or
Territorial, is an architecture that blend the signatures
of Spanish and Pueblo building design with modern
adaptations to present a form of structure that is
up-to-date yet blends with the terrain in a timeless way.
These buildings -- which can best be seen in the newest
subdivisions on the Santa Fe outskirts -- owe much to the
original adobe brick homes of the first Spanish
settlers.
The
food of Santa Fe needs no extravagant praising here. New
Mexico cuisine, now au courant across the U.S.A.,
originated in Santa Fe restaurants such as the Coyote
Cafe, Le Tertulia, and La Casa Seña. These and
less formal eateries including the Blue Corn Cafe
continue to set the pace for the serving of super-fresh
cuisine using regional foodstuffs in imaginative ways.
Here too, the mingling of the three historic cultures
produces a synergistic effect. Please see the next Santa
Fe Page for a listing of outstanding restaurants.
This
city of 60,000 and its visitors support six fine museums
and at least twenty art galleries. The city contains the
country's oldest public building -- the Palace of the
Governors -- situated along the north side of the Plaza.
Now a museum, this Spanish adobe building has inspired
the self-image of Santa Fe and the preservation of its
historic districts. This early colonial office, called
Palacio Real, was the site from which Governor Don Pedro
de Peralta governed an empire that stretched from the
Mississippi to the Pacific. It is a symbol of the past,
but also of the present and future for this city, which
always manages to excite the senses and inspire the
imagination.
The
Plaza
The
heart and soul of Santa Fe, this park is surrounded by
some of the earliest buildings to be constructed by the
Spanish for their territorial capital. In the 1800s, the
Plaza was the terminus for the Santa Fe Trail, the main
trading route for the Spanish and Mexican settlers. Over
the years, this historic center of culture for the
territory (and later the state) saw the ebb and flow of
political life, including the Pueblo Indian revolt, the
re-conquering of the land by Spaniards, and attacks by
other Indian tribes -- Comanche, Apache, Navajo.
The
park was laid out in a rectangular shape for protection
and ceremonial purposes. It was a parade area for
religious processions and was also used as a market and
as the site of public executions. The Spanish reigned
supreme from the Plaza between 1692 and 1821, when the
Mexican period began. Soldiers for the Confederacy were
based here for a few weeks in 1862.
The
Palace of the Governors runs along the north side of
the Plaza. This was the city's first building and the
seat of Spanish and Mexican government. It is now the
main site of the Museum of New Mexico, paying homage to
that early era of settlement. It is the oldest public
building in continuous use in the United States. It was
the capitol until the 1860s, serving as a fortress in
defense of the city against the Pueblo Revolt. It was
then occupied by the new state government, and Governor
Lew Wallace wrote most of his novel Ben Hur while
occupying the Palace.
The
other three sides of the Plaza are filled with shops and
restaurants, while the historic ambience of the Plaza
spills out over several blocks surrounding the park.
The La Fonda Hotel and St. Francis
Cathedral are both located here and both are prime
places to visit while strolling the Plaza. The cathedral,
built in 1869, is in the French Romanesque style, seeming
to be in stark contrast with the rest of the downtown
area, but yet a major landmark. The church was
constructed with local stone carved from nearby quarries
and from La Bajada Mesa west of town. Built on the site
of a former Spanish church, La Parroquia -- destroyed in
the Pueblo Revolt -- a few artifacts remain from the
earlier period, notably the wooden statue of the Virgin,
called La Conquistadora. The statue was first installed
in the city in 1625 and was returned following the
reconquest in 1692.
Only
600 yards from the Plaza is a hilltop ruin, the remains
of Fort Marcy, the first American army outpost in
the Southwest. The crumbled adobe walls are a testament
to its military use from 1846 and its role in the
development of modern Santa Fe, which spread out from
around its base.
Shopping
around the Plaza is always exciting. Some of Santa Fe's
finest clothing and specialty stores are located in the
old Victorian buildings looking out on the park. Local
native artisans are often found at the Portal of the
Palace of the Governors, selling exquisite Indian art and
crafts including weavings and jewelry. The La Fonda Hotel
is the scene of a monthly art and crafts fair. There are
commercial galleries in the area and when you're tired of
shopping, fine cafes are found around and near the
plaza.
Other
Historic Districts
A
Sena Plaza is located on East Place Avenue, just a
few minutes' walk from the main Plaza. Here, in this
secluded historic district, is one of the best-preserved
old homes in Santa Fe, built by Major Jose Sena about
1867. The huge house has 33 rooms enclosing a garden
patio with trees and a fountain. The cathedral is across
the street. A second storey was added to the hacienda in
1927 by artist William Penhallow Henderson, giving the
building a new look and a new life.
A
drive (or walk) along Old Santa Fe Trail will lead you
past the State Capitol, looking like a Zia design
representing the circle of life. Upstairs in the capitol
building is the governor's office, which includes a
public gallery featuring exhibits by New Mexican artists.
Farther along Old Santa Fe Trail -- across the river --
is the Barrio del Analco, stretching along De
Vargas Street. This is said to be the oldest residential
neighborhood in the country, set on the ruins of a native
pueblo. This section of the city was home to Santa Fe
Indians and Spanish servants, who were directed by the
Spanish conquistadors to live on the "other side of the
river." The Gregorio Crespin House was built about
1720 and is purported to be the oldest home in the
U.S.A.
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