Santa Fe, New Mexico, an Architecturally Unique American City
- Thread starter EdMc
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Great pictures but it really seems this is the Disney version of Santa Fe.
EdMc
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Downtown Santa Fe is not an amusement park, people live, work and play here. You can head to the countryside to see older adobe buildings built between 1000 and 1450 in Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO Heritage Site and National Historic Landmark. They don’t look much different than what you see in Santa Fe. But, as I noted with a picture, the La Fonda on the Plaza Hotel was built in 1922, nearly 100 years ago. That’s historical. With all of the Pueblo adobe architecture in downtown, no other American city looks like Santa Fe on this scale. It is unique. Ask any artist who resides here. Santa Fe refers to itself as “The City Different” because it is.
Jouhou
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Yeah, I think it's the rounded corners and non-straight lines of the Adobe that makes it look disney-esque. But it's quite "real". I really want to go someday.
How is the public transportation? Can you get around without a car? One thing I've hated about the western cities is how car-centric they are.
How is the public transportation? Can you get around without a car? One thing I've hated about the western cities is how car-centric they are.
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Ed, thank you so much for this photo essay. Photo essays like this are what used to make archBoston so vibrant and unique. As someone who was not too familiar with Santa Fe, I felt I was able to experience & begin to understand it through your photos. It's wonderful to see the vernacular architecture from so many perspectives, including its integration in the urban context. It looks like a vibrant city that operates on its own terms.
I also am interested in hearing about the walkability, bikeability and any transit options the city offers.
I also am interested in hearing about the walkability, bikeability and any transit options the city offers.
EdMc
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In spite of mountains close by, Santa Fe is, except for some gentle slopes, essentially flat downtown and it is an easy and pleasant walkabout as the whole of downtown has a neighborhood feel since hardscape commercialism is outside the downtown boundary. The walk from the railyard district to the Santa Fe Plaza in the heart of downtown is only about seven blocks.
The 2018 pamphlet, “Santa Fe Bikeways & Trails”, shows three major, paved bike trails leading west and south from downtown. All three are around four miles in length. The pavement of the Rail Trail, which I viewed from a train window (looks nice), extends to I-25 after which it becomes a soft surface trail for several more miles. The pamphlet states that, in 2013, the League of American Bicyclists recognized Santa Fe as a Silver-Level “Bicycle-Friendly Community” and lists nine bicycle shops. It also mentions that “the bikeways are complemented by world-class mountain and road biking in the immediate environs.” Don’t forget water and sun protection. santafempo.org
There is a free downtown circulator called the “Santa Fe Pickup” which I considered using but, after I realized how immensely walkable downtown is, I dropped the consideration. And this was a weekday! In a way, Santa Fe is like Boston in that streets are narrow, comparatively, to other Midwestern cites and traffic can build up quickly and move slowly, but, Santa Fe didn’t feel congested even as I walked back to the train station in late afternoon, that is, I was not cognizant of traffic. This was probably due to the fact that since downtown is heavily tourist oriented, there are few, if any, places to shop for groceries and everyday retail which excludes repeat visits, too. A different story outside of downtown, I’m sure.
A car was not in the plans for me due to a budget, my preference for walking and transit, and the inconvenience of unfamiliar directions and the frequent hassle of parking or not finding a parking spot. Limited on-street parking in Santa Fe looked risky to find. But, I could be wrong, there are only so many hours of daylight and I don’t want to waste any of them getting a car and looking for a place to park. After all, I may never come back here again.
The 2018 pamphlet, “Santa Fe Bikeways & Trails”, shows three major, paved bike trails leading west and south from downtown. All three are around four miles in length. The pavement of the Rail Trail, which I viewed from a train window (looks nice), extends to I-25 after which it becomes a soft surface trail for several more miles. The pamphlet states that, in 2013, the League of American Bicyclists recognized Santa Fe as a Silver-Level “Bicycle-Friendly Community” and lists nine bicycle shops. It also mentions that “the bikeways are complemented by world-class mountain and road biking in the immediate environs.” Don’t forget water and sun protection. santafempo.org
There is a free downtown circulator called the “Santa Fe Pickup” which I considered using but, after I realized how immensely walkable downtown is, I dropped the consideration. And this was a weekday! In a way, Santa Fe is like Boston in that streets are narrow, comparatively, to other Midwestern cites and traffic can build up quickly and move slowly, but, Santa Fe didn’t feel congested even as I walked back to the train station in late afternoon, that is, I was not cognizant of traffic. This was probably due to the fact that since downtown is heavily tourist oriented, there are few, if any, places to shop for groceries and everyday retail which excludes repeat visits, too. A different story outside of downtown, I’m sure.
A car was not in the plans for me due to a budget, my preference for walking and transit, and the inconvenience of unfamiliar directions and the frequent hassle of parking or not finding a parking spot. Limited on-street parking in Santa Fe looked risky to find. But, I could be wrong, there are only so many hours of daylight and I don’t want to waste any of them getting a car and looking for a place to park. After all, I may never come back here again.