The New Mexico State Capitol, aka the Roundhouse
Monday, October 23, 2023: On Monday, we spent the entire day in Santa Fe’s Old Town. Our first stop was the New Mexico State Capitol, known as the Roundhouse; it is the only round capitol building in the country. It is a combination of New Mexico Territorial style, Pueblo adobe architecture and Greek Revival adaptations. It 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 New Mexico Capitol Art Collection was created in 1991 and consists of nearly 600 artworks valued at over $5 million. The Collection includes paintings, photography, works on paper, sculpture, mixed media, textiles, ceramic and glass works, as well as furniture.
San Miguel Mission
We next visited the Spanish colonial San Miguel Mission, originally built around 1610. It is often referred to as the oldest church in the United States (not including Puerto Rico). The church was rebuilt twice, once in the mid- to late-17th century, and again in 1710 following the Pueblo Revolt. In both cases earlier pieces of the building may have been reused, though it is unclear to what extent. The wooden reredos (altar screens) featuring a wooden statue of Saint Michael the Archangel wielding a sword, dating back to at least 1709, were added in 1798. The bell that hung in the bell tower prior to 1872 is on display inside the building.
De Vargas Street House (the Oldest House)
We stopped into the De Vargas Street House, often referred to as the Oldest House. Attached to a gift shop, it is a historic building in Santa Fe which is often said to be one of the oldest buildings in the United States. The original date of construction is unknown but the majority of the building is believed to date to the Spanish colonial period (post-1610).
Loretto Chapel
We visited the Loretto Chapel, where a story is told about the miraculous staircase there.
When the Sisters of Loretto built a Gothic chapel for their Santa Fe school for girls in 1878, a problem remained: there was no way to access the choir loft, and any reasonable designs for staircases took too much space in the small chapel. The nuns were told no staircase could be built – instead, some other means of ascending to the loft would be required.
The nuns turned to St. Joseph, asking for his assistance through a novena. On the ninth and final day of the novena, a stranger appeared looking for work, accepting the commission to build a staircase.
The mysterious man constructed the staircase in secret, consulting with no one on the details and completing the work with the hand tools he possessed. Some versions of the story have the construction occurring in a single night; another version over the course of a week; still other versions over the course of months. At the end of the commission, the mysterious carpenter simply vanished, leaving Santa Fe without seeking recognition or payment.
The resulting staircase has been described as not merely mysterious, but miraculous. The compact spiral staircase completes two rotations before reaching the choir loft, and the entire structure lacks a central support. The intricately detailed stairs are held together with wooden pegs and glue rather than metal nails. To add to the puzzling story of the staircase, the wood from which they are built is of an unknown variety: although it has been identified as a type of spruce, the species of tree from which it was gathered has not been discovered. Experts agree, at the very least, that the wood is not from any species of tree found in New Mexico.
La Fonda on the Plaza
La Fonda on the Plaza, sitting at the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail and in the very heart of the city, has been a central part of the culture and commerce of the community for generations.
Various inns have operated on this site since 1609, making it the oldest hotel site in the United States.
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
I was curious to see The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Santa Fe, after reading Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. The cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 and 1886 on the site of an older adobe church, La Parroquia (built in 1714–1717). An older church on the same site, built in 1626, was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt.
The character in Cather’s book is based on French-born Archbishop Lamy, who built the cathedral. In dramatic contrast to the surrounding adobe structures, Saint Francis Cathedral was designed in the Romanesque Revival style. Sadly, as the cathedral was closed on Monday, we weren’t able to go inside.
Izmi Sushi Bar
We had lunch at Izmi Sushi Bar, where I enjoyed a New Mexico roll: shrimp tempura, green chile, red pepper 🌶️ , avocado 🥑, and crab mix. Mike had Green Chile Two: Green Chile tempura, Tempura shrimp & spicy crab. As we sat near the window eating and sharing a lemonade, we watched a crowd of protesters march by protesting Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza, and the genocide that was (& still is) happening there.
New Mexico Museum of Art
We visited the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe in the afternoon. The 1917 building itself is a work of art. It is an example of Pueblo Revival Style architecture, and synthesizes Native American and Spanish Colonial design styles.
It has a beautiful courtyard with six murals on the north walls painted by Will Shuster in 1934. The Museum of New Mexico commissioned the murals as a Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) project. Painted at the height of the Great Depression, the murals honor the spiritual, ceremonial, and agricultural traditions of the Pueblo Indians.
The four large murals, inspired by the writings of ethnologist Alice Gunningham Fletcher, portray earth, sky, water, and emergence from the underworld (sipapu), while the two small murals display aspects of daily life: winnowing wheat and making pottery.
Shuster, born in Philadelphia in 1893, came to New Mexico in 1920 after World War I. He thought Santa Fe would be the perfect place to recover from tuberculosis that developed from a gas attack during the war.
Shuster soon became a well-known artist and a prominent figure in the Santa Fe community. He is best known as a member of Los Cinco Pintores (The Five Painters), a group of young, Bohemian artists recovering from the psychological effects of the war.
Inside, the exhibition on “The Nature of Glass” explores how artists working in glass have engaged with the natural world as content for their work. It also examines the nature of glass as a medium, exploring the technical and material aspects of glass, the qualities of the medium, and the process of how artists work with glass.
Another exhibit I enjoyed was on Rick Dillingham (1952-1994), who worked in the art of ceramics by piecing together imperfect fragments to explore new ideas of wholeness.
Finally, we saw some of the museum’s permanent collection, which features reflections of the New Mexican indigenous people, culture and ceremonies, and the uniquely beautiful landscape of the high desert.
Santa Fe Plaza
After leaving the museum, we made our way to Santa Fe Plaza, which has been the heart of downtown Santa Fe for 400 years and hosts Indian and Spanish markets and other community gatherings and concerts.
We stopped to rest at the Plaza Cafe where we shared a Quarti Leches cupcake and I enjoyed a Mexican Mocha and Mike a Negra Modelo.
After our full and busy day in Santa Fe, we returned to our cozy casita where we soaked in the hot tub with vodka tonics and then heated up our leftovers from last night’s take-out dinner from The Wrap.
Steps: 11,968; Miles 5.07. Drove 36.5 miles. Weather Hi 74°, Lo 42°.
~ wander.essence ~ 
Santa Fe is a fantastic city, isn’t it? Thanks for taking me there and waking up fond memories.
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It’s the best, Pit. Between Santa Fe and Taos, I don’t know which I liked more. I could retire in either of those towns and be happy, but their lack of access to good international airports for all our travels makes it not the place for us long term, sadly.
By the way, did you see my posts from this same road trip where we stopped in Fredericksburg and Luckenbach? We really loved it there. I couldn’t help but think I might run into you! https://wanderessence.com/2024/05/01/around-about-fredericksburg-texas-an-annular-solar-eclipse/
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You saw so much amazing art work, Cathy. Impossible to choose one favourite.
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We saw so much for sure, and what I loved was that it was so reflective of New Mexico’s complicated and beautiful history, people and land.
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