May 14: Santa Fe: Carmel on Steroids!

This is a fascinating town that is the polar opposite of the impoverished cities we visited in the deep South. The place oozes affluence with its scores of high-end art galleries, luxury hotels, and restaurants. The place is home to the oldest church structure and the oldest home in the US. Much of the downtown dates from the late 17 to mid 18^th centuries. The buildings are constructed in the “pueblo revival” style. The older ones are made of adobe, and the newer ones are plastered to resemble adobe. It has one of the strictest architectural building codes in the country. Every building within five miles of the central plaza must reflect the pueblo revival style. The city reminds us of those in Europe that developed into a random web of streets with no central grid plan. It is very easy to get lost, particularly with its maze of one-way narrow streets.

Although Santa Fe is smaller in population than our home town of Redding, CA., it has a fine arts culture of a city many times its size, with opera, symphony, ballet, and resident theater companies. It is home to many artists, famous authors, and movie stars, and is like Carmel, CA, except exponentially larger. It has more museums than San Francisco.

We did the tourist thing and took a 90 minute guided tour in an open-air trolley. The guide was great, and provided wonderfully entertaining history lessons. There is so much more to this small city than we could ever have imagined!

We visited the Loretto Chapel with its miraculous wooden spiral staircase. Nuns once prayed for a way to access the choir loft in their Gothic-style chapel, and a mysterious carpenter appeared, armed only with a saw and a square. Singlehandedly, he built a spiral staircase that lacks a central support. It is held together only by wooden pegs. Engineers still stand in awe, not fully understanding how this could be done. After the staircase was completed, the carpenter vanished. He did not ask for payment for his labor, or materials. Interesting.

We entered the Palace of the Governors (originally Spanish), constructed in 1610. It is the oldest existing civic building in the country. It is now a museum. The impressive St. Francis Cathedral Basilica here has an interesting history. It seems the local bishop ran out of money during its construction. Guess who came forward with the money? The local Jewish community who had come to Santa Fe to escape the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition came up with the balance of the money required to complete the church! And, it was a gift!! The church is the only Catholic Cathedral in existence with a tribute written in Hebrew script on its facade. (Unfortunately, the Inquisitors came to Santa Fe and caught up with the Jews, who were forced to convert, and become Spanish Militia members, or be sent back to Spain for unspeakable treatment.)

Central Santa Fe is built around the original Spanish Plaza, which is the end of the Santa Fe Trail. A festival was being held there on the day we visited. It is a beautiful setting with lawns, areas for vendors, and a performance venue. There was live music and dancers in colorful Mexican dresses. Surrounding the plaza are all manor of high-end jewelry stores featuring the work of local Indian silversmiths. Their windows are ablaze in turquoise, iridescent inlaid stones, and diamonds. Some of the Indian pottery was some of the most beautiful we had ever seen. Life sizes bronze figures were everywhere for the public to enjoy.

We ate a delicious lunch at The Shed, which is a well known restaurant that features Southwestern cuisine. It is housed in a section of a very long building that was originally a private residence back in 1680. The original owner was a successful Spaniard who married a 14 year- old bride, who then produced 23 children!! I guess they were busy in their spare time – what little they had. The family kept adding additional rooms as more children were born, until the house extended a full city block. Amazing!!

We visited the San Miguel Mission Church, constructed in 1610 of adobe. This very plain structure is the oldest church building in the US. It was partially destroyed by the Indians in their revolt in 1680, and was reconstructed when the Spanish reconquered the region 12 years later. Mass is still celebrated here. Newly formed adobe bricks were drying by the church for it ongoing reconstruction.

The oldest house in the US is next door to the San Miguel Church, and is now a shop. It is built of adobe, and is quite small. Unfortunately, it was closed.

We wish we had more time to spend in this wonderful city. We would love to return someday & wonder through the multitude of art galleries along Canyon Rd.