EXPLORING
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After you leave Santa Fe's oldest church and oldest house, and their majestic adobe buildings that we visited in my last two articles, you might expect to start seeing more modern facades. But you don't.
You see much newer buildings, but they still look like they were built centuries ago. And they are beautiful! Everywhere you look, you see adobe construction. You don't see blue, yellow or white structures. Everything is light brown. The earth and the buildings are the same color! Homes, hotels, government buildings, businesses, all look like they were designed by the same architect. lol No wonder they call Santa Fe "The City Different." You see that difference the moment you get here. But why? How does this happen? How can a city be so uniformly unique? How did they get everyone to agree to build similar buildings? And to paint their exteriors with the same color? |
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Well, it's the law! According to a 1957 city ordinance, adobe is the only architectural style allowed in San Fe's five Historic Districts, which take up almost a fourth of the city, including the downtown business district and the older, historic residential areas.
In the 1950s, Santa Fe city officials had seen how an invasion of other architectural styles were changing the character of their unique city, and they didn't like it. They wanted to maintain the way Santa Fe looked at its inception, back when it was established by Don Pedro de Peralta in 1609-1610. Seeing that Santa Fe was becoming "too Americanized," they feared that the city was losing the charm that drew tourism and bolstered their economy. And so, to preserve the "charm and character of Santa Fe and its distinctive architectural style" that kept tourist coming, city officials codified the look they wanted with a historic zoning ordinance. |
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The ordinance prohibits construction of buildings in styles other than "Spanish Pueblo Revival" and "Territorial Revival," which have some differences but still look very similar. It establishes a set of facade standards to which all new construction must conform.
So, even the modern homes that were not built with adobe still look like they were. They still have canted walls, rounded corners, and flat roofs supported by wooden beams, projecting from the exterior walls. And they still look like they were made of mud and straw, centuries ago. To my eyes, it's a beautiful blending of the architecture of ancestral pueblo dwellings and colonial Spanish homes. |
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Bottom line: With their impressive, earth-colored buildings, the people of Santa Fe honor their Spanish and Native American heritage — like in no other city I have seen! Calling Santa Fe "Different" is an understatement!
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Before I keep exploring San Fe, and its many awesome Hispanic heritage sites, there is a lady I must visit. You know about the Spanish conquistadores, right? Well, I have a date with "La Conquistadora."
Stay tuned. |
To read other parts of this ongoing series, click: EXPLORING NEW MEXICO
