New Mexico Tale of 2 Cities

Santa Fe, in particular, was sending different signals than we’d been used to in a while. I’m not just talking about being required to wear a mask to walk from the door of a restaurant to a table (something we had to do in England, too, months ago). Santa Fe’s historic Plaza was having a statue problem.

The boards hiding the obelisk, or whichever statue was behind them, had a sign with a QR code inviting visitors to read about why they’d been hidden or destroyed. But when I visited the website, it didn’t tell me what had been so objectionable about the Soldiers' Monument, never mind who destroyed it, or why someone else after whom a road is named in downtown Santa Fe couldn’t have a statue anymore.

 

I totally understand why a memorial that refers to the “savage Indians” is not something a population including American Indians wants to honor in a public square. But that was one side of the Soldiers' Monument, the other three of which memorialized Union soldiers who died in the Civil War; and in any case none of that information is visible on the boards, or on the website. What I don’t find helpful is boarding up a statue without putting anything educative there, to help bewildered visitors understand what happened. I suspect that it’s difficult to come to an agreement about what to put instead—much more difficult than just removing something or covering it up. It seems like a copout, a missed opportunity to try to educate people and make some type of progress. 

 

The rest of the Plaza was looking historic and Southwestern. The Palace of the Governors is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States (17^th century Spanish).

Outside the Palace of the Governors there are always Native vendors selling arts and crafts. There was also a guy in the Plaza playing Christmas carols on a saxophone, which would have been fine had it been after Thanksgiving instead of early November. I heard one of the vendors huff to his buddy: “It isn’t Christmas yet!”

 

Santa Fe’s Cathedral is dedicated to St. Francis, and also has a statue of the first Native person from the Americas to be made a saint of the Catholic Church: Kateri Tekakwitha. 

Santa Fe also has the oldest church and the oldest (European-style) house in America. 

San Miguel Church, 1610

1646 house

It was also our third state capital and, like so many other buildings on the Route, the New Mexico Capitol displayed the “P.O.W.-M.I.A.” flag.

 

Santa Fe would be an expensive city to shop for souvenirs in, and we ate out of our normal price range too, but it was worth it. Once we got to our table at Radish & Rye, the rye and “small plates” together with our super attentive waiter made for a fine dining experience.

From Santa Fe we were forced onto I-25 for our longest interstate section yet—20 miles. We passed the “Mormon Battalion Monument” and the Santo Domingo Pueblo. Towns alternated with reservations. Of the town signs, T. observed: “They don’t list population but elevation!” I was sobered by the length of Bernalillo’s list of war dead on its memorial, considering the size of the town.

 

We took the scenic route along the railroad (signed “El Camino Real,” now Highway 313) to reach Albuquerque from the north. 

The post-1937 alignment of Route 66 approaches Albuquerque from the east, along Central Avenue. We took time to explore both sections. 

The KiMo Theatre (1927) was a landmark combination of Art Deco and Southwest/Indian architectural influences. It does not appear to be showing anything now, but the entryway is still impressive.

This detail shows the theatre definitely pre-dated the 1930s.

Further to the east, Central Avenue has lots of interesting sights.

Unfortunately, Kelly’s Brew Pub was also closed. In the ’30s this was the Jones Motor Company, a modern service station and sight for sore Route 66-traveling eyes.

I don’t think anyone traveling Route 66 to Albuquerque should miss the triangle of Central and Monte Vista Boulevard. The former Little House Diner is now the Triangle Police Substation, probably the cutest little police station in the world.

Further west, near Old Town, we found some more classic motel signs, some even with motels attached. We lucked into the Monterey Motel. It’s all modern and newly renovated inside, but outside, the Monterey and El Vado are classic twins, almost side by side.

It was dark by the time we made the ten-minute walk to Old Town. Tucked beside San Felipe de Neri church, another Spanish colonial building, is the Church Street Café, which looks much small from the outside but inside, is room after room of an old house serving outstanding Mexican food.

 

The Monterey Motel reception desk is actually in the bar, and everybody checking in got free cocktails. The washing machine was free (although very, very slow), and we even got to town early enough to sit around the pool. There was a d.j. there that night for people who wanted music and dancing, yet I didn’t hear a sound when we were trying to sleep. A perfect combination of old and new.

 

Highly recommend Albuquerque.