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Archive for the ‘History’ category

On Location at the New Mexico History Museum and Governor’s Palace

April 16th, 2010

Okay … I admit that I’m a big fan of former New Mexico Governor, Lew Wallace. Not because I have any idea of what his accomplishments were as he served back in the 1800’s, but because of what he did in his spare time. This is the Governor who decided he was also a writer and penned the epic “Ben Hur”, which many years later made it to the Big Screen starring everyone’s favorite gladiator and rebel, Charlton Heston! Roman History has always intrigued me and it obviously did the same to Governor Wallace.

That’s why I feel a connection when I head to Santa Fe and a must stop visit to the Palace of the Governor’s. There you’ll learn about Governor Wallace and our other forefathers who have occupied the Governor’s office inside the oldest capital building still in use on the North American Continent. It’s a wonderful place to visit and I must admit that I catch myself wondering about Governor Wallace sitting in his candlelit office after sunset meticulously writing “Ben Hur.” Did he really have a lot to do as governor, or did he have lots of free time? How and where did he get his information to write while living in Santa Fe, which is more than a few miles from Italy and Israel!

Lots of those questions arise as we take a peek into how our former Chief Executives lived and worked. It’s even possible to imagine Governor Bill Richardson sitting there pondering the fate of New Mexico in pretty primitive surroundings! Do you think any of our 20^th Century Governors, including Governor Bill Richardson, ever wondered over to the Palace to walk the halls and asks his predecessors for advice as many of our Presidents have indicated they do in the White House? Any way you cut it, from the Native Americans sitting outside the front door selling their authentic jewelry and pottery to what you see inside the Palace of the Governors is a place you’ll want to visit time and again while in Santa Fe.

And just behind the Palace is New Mexico’s newest museum … The New Mexico History Museum … 3 ½ floors of everything you want to know about New Mexico from the earliest settlers (after the Native American’s) making their way up the El Camino Real (The Royal Road) from Mexico City … to the wild west and early railroad travel … to space travel in our future.

On Location at the New Mexico History Museum

It’s all here and you’ll want to take in every inch of every floor. See video (including some of our Travel Guide New Mexico video!) and other interactive displays that do much more than give you a glimpse of New Mexico … they walk you through hundreds of years of history and culture. All in a way that will truly give you a feeling of what it was like then … and how it has evolved to now. Just a wonderful place. And being able to walk between the Palace of the Governor’s to the new New Mexico History Museum is a very special treasure that you won’t find in other states.

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, History, Museums, New Mexico Destinations, Richard's Recommendations, Santa Fe, Things To Do

Tags: history museum museum Palace of the Governor

San Miguel Mission

April 16th, 2010

The city of Santa Fe was founded in 1610, and El San Miguel (St. Michael’s) Mission Church was built between 1610 and and 1628. It is the oldest church still in use in the United States, this simple adobe structure was built by the Tlaxcalan Indians of Mexico, who came to New Mexico as servants of the Spanish. Badly damaged in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the church vigas in the ceiling were burned, and in 1692 De Vargas ordered the church rebuilt.

In 1859 the church served as the chapel for the newly arrived Christian Brothers who took over control of St. Michael’s School. In 1881 the Christian Brothers purchased the church, a recently completed school building, an adobe building and the land upon which they were situated from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

Since its creation, San Miguel has been used as a chapel and shrine to St. Michael, a military chapel, an oratory for the Christian Brothers, a school chapel and a barrio church. Today, in addition to being an historical treasure, cultural heritage and tourist attraction, it still serves as a shrine to St. Michael and a chapel where Mass is celebrated weekly Some of the features of San Miquel Mission are:

Reredos – The reredos or altar screen dates from 1798 and is the oldest wooden reredos in New Mexico.
St. Michael the Archangel Statue – The carved gilded and painted wood statue of St. Michael the Archangel celebrates his victory over Satan and dates from at least 1709 when it was brought from Mexico. It occupies the center niche in the reredos.
The San Jose Bell – The bronze bell situated in the gift shop once hung in the bell tower. There is some speculation that it was cast in 1856 in the Parroquia in Santa Fe or in Cerrillos in 1836.

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Posted in History, Museums, New Mexico Destinations, Santa Fe, Things To Do, Videos

New Mexico State Capitol Building

April 16th, 2010

Today’s New Mexico State Capitol, known as the Roundhouse, is the only round capitol building in the country. It was built by Robert E. McKee with a design by W.C. Kruger that combined elements of New Mexico Territorial style, Pueblo adobe architecture and Greek Revival adaptations. The 232,000 square-foot Roundhouse was dedicated on Dec. 8, 1966.

From a bird’s-eye view, the Roundhouse resembles the Zia sun symbol, which is also emblazoned on the New Mexico state flag. The image, which originated at Zia Pueblo, incorporates elements representing the sun’s rays, the four directions, the four seasons, and the four phases of life. The State Seal of New Mexico, carved in stone, hangs above each of the Roundhouse’s four entrance wings.

The four-story Roundhouse includes a subterranean story and a central interior Rotunda that rises 60 feet through the top three stories. The Rotunda’s design elements include New Mexico Travertine marble featuring a turquoise and brass mosaic depicting the New Mexico State Seal. The ceiling skylight of stained glass is patterned after a Native American basket weave symbolizing the sky and the earth.

The Capitol Art Collection includes paintings, sculpture, handcrafted furniture and other work by New Mexico artists and artisans. The Governor’s Gallery, located on the fourth floor, was founded by Clare Apodaca, who served as New Mexico’s First Lady from 1975 to 1978. The gallery, an outreach facility of the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Department of Cultural Affairs, presents six exhibits per year, including the annual Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts.

For information about guided tours of the New Mexico State Capitol by appointment, call (505) 986-4589 during business hours Monday through Friday. Visitors can take a self-guided tour anytime between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Read more about the New Mexico State Capitol here.

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Posted in History, Museums, New Mexico Destinations, Santa Fe, Videos

Tags: state capitol

Richard Visits the State Capitol

January 30th, 2010

I’ve lived in New Mexico for many years and have spent a great deal of time in Santa Fe. You know – The City Different – the place that gives all of us a different perspective on New Mexico. A travel Mecca for people around the world. And a place that most of us who live here take for granted — as a result, we have our favorite places to visit and therefore we miss a lot.

Recently, I visited the State Capitol building for the first time. My wife, Janine, had been invited by Governor Richardson to meet with him about Travel Guide NEW MEXICO and in-state travel in general. Since I wasn’t on the invite list, I tagged along and started to look around the inside of the Capitol Building while Janine was in her meeting. After a couple minutes I asked one of the guards if it was possible to take a tour and he said, “Sure, this is the people’s building … feel free to go wherever you would like and be sure and check out the great art we have here.”

Art? In the Capitol Building? Feel free to walk around? Unescorted? Go wherever you want to go? You’ve got to be kidding! So I started off walking into the visitor’s gallery of the House of Representatives and the Senate, located on opposite sides of the building. I sat and looked in amazement at our seat of government and in awe of the fact that I could just walk around and check things out.

The art is magnificent and you are even allowed to walk into the reception area of the Governor’s suite and check out the art there. Wander the hallways and there is nothing short of a great art collection at every turn in every hallway.

New Mexico’s State Capitol was built in 1966 and from the air looks like a giant Zia sign. There is no dome … the only capitol building in the country without one! The atrium on the main floor is awe-inspiring. Just walk in and look up and you’ll see what I mean. Take in the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th floors … walk up the steps or take the elevator. It is one building that you need to see if art is your love. Or, if you are just interested in how government works.

Martin Leger, the Advertising Manager for the New Mexico State Tourism Department, has great stories to tell of his father’s days as a state senator and I look forward to talking with him more about his Dad’s time in the “Roundhouse”, as it is called by those who work there.

If you prefer, you can arrange for a guided tour. Call first (505/986-4589) to make arrangements for a once in a lifetime tour of a building where laws are made and art is king! Janine and I have promised that everyone who comes to visit us will be treated to a tour of OUR State Capitol. A building open year-round for all of us to see and enjoy! Make sure you add it to your list of places to visit while in Santa Fe. It’s an easy two minute walk from the Plaza … so you have no excuse for not stopping by!

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, History, New Mexico Destinations, Richard's Recommendations, Silver City, Things To Do, Videos

Tags: art state capitol

Puye Cliffs

January 16th, 2010

In this video, Richard and Travel Guide NEW MEXICO visit the Puye Cliffs. For more than three centuries from the late 1100s to 1580, Puye Cliffs was home to 1500 Pueblo Indians who lived, farmed and hunted game there. In the late 1500s, Puye Cliffs inhabitants moved into the Rio Grande River valley, likely due to drought that caused springs to dry up and crops to fail. Puye Cliffs inhabitants are ancestors of the present-day Santa Clara people, who now live at Santa Clara Pueblo, ten miles east of Puye.

Puye Cliffs consists of two levels of cliff dwellings cut into the cliff face, as well as dwellings on the mesa top. The first level is over one mile long and runs the entire length of the base of the mesa. The second level is about 2,100 feet long. Stairways and paths were cut in the face of the rock to connect the two levels and to allow people to climb to the top of the mesa. Dwellings on the mesa top are examples of Pueblo architecture and were part of a single, multi-storied complex built around a large, central plaza.

The complex is known as the Community House or Great House. While the actual number of rooms is unknown, the south part of the complex had 173 rooms on the ground floor, with multiple stories in various places, similar to modern-day Taos Pueblo.

The largest of all settlements in the Pajarito Plateau, Puye Cliffs was excavated in the summer of 1907 by Adolf Bandelier, in cooperation with the Southwest Society of the Archeological Institute of America. It was the first of the ancient Pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley to be systematically excavated, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1966.