Santa Fe, New Mexico
You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|December 2005|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.
Santa Fe (Spanish, "Holy Faith") (full form: La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís, English: Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi) is the capital of New Mexico, a state of the United States of America. It has a population of around 62,203 (2000). It is the county seat of Santa Fe County.
The elevation of Santa Fe is 6,996 feet (2,132 meters) above sea level, compared with 5,280 ft. (1655.4 m) for Denver, Colorado and around 5,352 ft for Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The city administration consciously attempts to preserve and display a regional architectural style. By an ordinance passed in 1958, new and rebuilt buildings, especially those in designated historic districts, must exhibit a Spanish Territorial or Pueblo style of architecture, with flat roofs and other features suggestive of the area's traditional adobe construction. Many contemporary houses in the city are built from lumber, concrete blocks, and other common building materials, but with stucco surfaces (fondly known by the locals as "fakeadobe", pronounced as one word) reflecting the historic style.
In addition to serving as the state capital, the city depends economically on art, tourism, construction, and real estate development. Set at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the city's intellectual climate and cultural attractions have drawn an influx of new residents with an above average income and educational level. Restaurants, boutiques, and galleries line the streets of the city center and Canyon Road. In many demographic trends, Santa Fe exhibits several differences from other areas of New Mexico.
The growth boom flagged temporarily in the mid-1990s when Debbie Jaramillo, who opposed the focus on tourism, was elected mayor. Although she was voted out after serving one term, the city continues to face the challenges of continuing drought conditions and a widening divide between locals and recent arrivals. Still, other than the State government, art and tourism remain Santa Fe's biggest industries.
Some visitors find Santa Fe particularly attractive around the second week of September when the aspens in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains turn yellow and the skies are clear and blue. This is also the time of the annual Fiesta to celebrate the "reconquering" of New Mexico by Don Diego DeVargas, a highlight is when Santa Feans burn Zozobra, a fifty-foot puppet also called "Old Man Gloom".
Santa Fe was originally envisioned as an important stop on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, from Atchison, Kansas, to Santa Fe, and then to points west. However, as this railroad progressed into New Mexico, the civil engineers in charge realized that building the line through the hills surrounding Santa Fe was impractical. Hence, they built the line through Lamy, a town in Santa Fe County to the south of Santa Fe. Years later, a spur railway line was constructed from Lamy to Santa Fe, bringing the railroad to Santa Fe at last.
History
A settlement on the site that would become Santa Fe was first established by Juan Martinez de Montoya in 1607.[1] The town was formally founded and made a capital in 1610, making it the oldest capital city and the second oldest surviving city founded by the European colonists in what land was later to become part of the United States, behind St. Augustine, Florida (1565). (Jamestown, Virginia was also settled in 1607.) Santa Fe was the capital of Nuevo México, a province of New Spain explored by Coronado and established in 1598. The city was founded by Don Pedro de Peralta, New Mexico's third governor. Peralta gave the city its full name, "La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís", or "The Royal City of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi".
Except for the years 1680-1692, when the native Pueblo people drove the Spaniards out of the area known as New Mexico, later to be "reconquered" by Don Diego de Vargas, Santa Fe remained Spain's provincial seat until 1810 at the outbreak of the Mexican War of Independence. In 1824 the city's status as the capital of the Mexican territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México was formalized in the 1824 Constitution. In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico and by 1848 had gained New Mexico through The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In 1851, Jean B. Lamy, arrived in Santa Fe when he began construction of the Saint Francis Cathedral. For a few days in March 1863, the Confederate flag of General Henry Sibley flew over Santa Fe, until he was defeated by Union troops. With the coming of the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railroad and the invention of the telegraph in 1880, Santa Fe and New Mexico underwent an economic revolution. Corruption in government, however, accompanied the growth, and President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Lew Wallace as a territorial governor to "clean up New Mexico." Wallace did such a good job that Billy the Kid threatened to come up to Santa Fe and kill him. It wasn't until 1912 that New Mexico became that country's 47th state, with Santa Fe as its capital.
Art and Culture
The city has an impressive number of outdoor sculptures. There are many statues of Saint Francis, and quite a few of other saints, such as Kateri Tekakwitha. Given that Saint Francis was known for his love of animals it is not surprising that there are great numbers of representations of crows, bulls, elephants, livestock and other beasts, all over town. The styles run the whole spectrum from Baroque to Post-modern.
Performance artists and authors followed the influx of specialists in the visual arts. Famous writers like Cormac McCarthy, Roger Zelazny, and Jack Schaefer have been long-time residents.
Most tourist activity takes place in the historic downtown, especially on and around the Plaza, a one-block square adjacent to the Palace of the Governors, the original seat of New Mexico's territorial government since the time of Spanish colonization.
Canyon Road, east of the Plaza, has the highest concentration of art galleries and restaurants in the city, and is a major destination for wealthy tourists and locals. Santa Fe's art market is the third largest in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles, and the Canyon Road galleries showcase a wide array of contemporary Southwestern, indigenous American, and experimental art, in addition to older Russian, Taos Masters, and Native American pieces.
The town and the surrounding areas have a high concentration of artists. They have come over the decades to capture on canvas and in other media the natural beauty of the landscape, the flora and the fauna. One of the most well-known New Mexico-based artist who lived for a time in Santa Fe and who has the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum named after her was Georgia O'Keeffe.
Music and opera are well represented in Santa Fe with the annual Santa Fe Opera productions which take place between late June and late August each year, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival which is also held at the same time, mostly in the recently-refurbished movie theatre, the Lensic Theatre.
Loretto Chapel
One of the most famous of all Santa Fe landmarks is the Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel. The staircase has two 360 degree turns and has no visible means of support. Over the years, it has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including Unsolved Mysteries and a Kraft movie The Staircase.
Geography
Santa Fe is located at 35°40'2" North, 105°57'52" West (35.667231, -105.964575)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 96.9 km² (37.4 mi²). 96.7 km² (37.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.21% water.
Climate
The average temperate in Santa Fe ranges from a low of 20F (-7C) to a high of 40F (4C) in winter, low of 55F (13C) to a high of 90F (27C) in summer. Santa Fe receives 1-2 inches (25-50 mm) of rain per month in summer and about 5 inches (12 cm) of snow per month in winter.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 62,203 people, 27,569 households, and 14,969 families residing in the city. The population density is 643.4/km² (1,666.1/mi²). There are 30,533 housing units at an average density of 315.8/km² (817.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 76.30% White, 0.66% African American, 2.21% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 15.29% from other races, and 4.20% from two or more races. 47.82% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 27,569 households out of which 24.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% are married couples living together, 12.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 45.7% are non-families. 36.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.20 and the average family size is 2.90.
In the city the population is spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $40,392, and the median income for a family is $49,705. Males have a median income of $32,373 versus $27,431 for females. The per capita income for the city is $25,454. 12.3% of the population and 9.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.2% of those under the age of 18 and 9.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- Santa Fe Reporter Website
- Santa Fe Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce
- Santa Fe New Mexican Newspaper
- Santa Fe Travel Tourism & Relocation Guide
- Santa Fe Tourist Site & Local Articles
- High Mayhem Experimental Arts Collaborative
- The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel
- Georgian O'Keeffe Museum official site
- Santa Fe Opera official site
- Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival offical site
Municipalities and communities of Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Town | ||
| CDPs |
| |
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
