FEATURES

News and Views from the New Mexico Architectural Foundation :: December 2022

The NMAF wishes you a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year.

The holidays are here, and yes, so are we! We are still operating on covid-time, slower but steady. Hopefully you and yours are well, enjoying the season, and adjusting to our new reality.

Enjoy this Winter newsletter – lots of news. As we head into 2023, we would love to hear some of your expectations from us in the new year. Simply reply to this email with any of your comments or thoughts. And, if you would like to jump in by submitting an article for our next newsletter, or have another way you would like to be involved, please get in touch. We are always open to new voices.

During the pandemic we followed national and state health protocols and have not organized any tours. We hope to resume tours soon.

In our Spring newsletter we explained how we are moving away from a membership model and instead, will gratefully accept donations. We very much appreciate all of you who have been members and donors in the past.

NMAF is a 501(c)3 organization and donations can be made online by clicking here, or by mailing your donation directly to NMAF, PO Box 3666, Albuquerque, NM 87190.

Tis the season and we thank you. Happy Holidays!

December 2022 Update

The Guide to New Mexico Architecture has grown to fifty-four different architectural sites including several districts (UNM Central Campus, Nob Hill, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, etc.). We published a major new site – actually a massive district – focusing on Chaco Canyon National Historical Park. That has been a huge undertaking and consumed much of the year. Edie Cherry and Jim See have been working hard on the project and gained useful input from New Mexico archaeologists to detail each of the Chaco Puebloan great house sites. Edie says she learned a lot during the research and review of the site. This is an important addition the Guide highlighting one of the country’s most important archaeological resources. Sure to check out this new addition.

If you haven’t visited the Guide lately the most recent sites added previously this year are the Spaceport America Facility, The Crosby Theatre at the Santa Fe Opera, and The Murray Hotel in Silver City. The 2021 posting, New Mexico’s Earliest Architecture, takes the visitor back to New Mexico in 10,000 BC and is getting a lot of attention on the Guide site.

Usage of the Guide is constantly increasing, and we have seen that it is being used in some school classes. Visits to the Guide have already surpassed the number of visits for last year and we will easily top 9,000 visits this year. We have a global audience. Last month we had visitors from 23 countries besides the US.

Please visit the Guide at: http://nmarchitectureguide.org

This past fall we lost a dear member of our community, Channell "Chan" Graham. Chan lived a vibrant and long life in the cherished company of his family, many friends, and colleagues. Chan practiced architecture, fine art, and the even finer art of community involvement. Many tributes have been written and memories shared – all of which can viewed here.

Chan was long active with the New Mexico Architectural Foundation. He and his wife, Tamara Coombs – herself an architectural, urban planning, and environmental activism leader in New Mexico and New York - attended tours and offered their expertise and support for our New Mexican architectural heritage. Chan kicked off our 2017 Toast to Trost tour in Albuquerque with a talk he prepared about Henry Trost and the firm's legacy in New Mexico and Texas. Chan's enthusiasm for the Trosts' work was infectious. (Anyone interested in the lecture can contact us.)

Reflecting on his many interests and experiences, Chan authored an article about his work with noted architect, Paolo Soleri, and educator and artist, Lloyd Kiva New. The article ran in a NMAF newsletter and is linked again here.

We are thankful for Chan's contributions to New Mexico architectural history, and more importantly, for his friendship.

Have you seen the new Fifth Edition of Old Santa Fe Today, written by Associate Professor Audra Bellmore? Dr. Bellmore has greatly expanded the previous edition with her exhaustive research on the ninety-six properties on the Historic Santa Fe Foundation "Register of Properties Worthy of Preservation". The Register was started in 1962 and resulted in a number of properties under the ownership of the HSFF. That model has since changed and now only El Zaguan is owned and managed by the foundation with other properties protected with preservation easements. These details, along with the histories and significance of each Register entry, are included in the book. As an aside, Dr. Bellmore researched and wrote her book during the most intense years of the Covid-19 pandemic which complicated her research.

And did we mention that Audra Bellmore is a NMAF Board Member and Secretary? We are very excited by Audra's significant contribution to the architectural history of Santa Fe and New Mexico. To order your own copy, click here.

Happy Holidays from the New Mexico Architectural Foundation