S U M M E R 2 0 1 1Volume 25 Number 3Pr e s e r v a t i o nN E W M E X I C O

T h e n e w s l e t t e r o f t h e N e w M e x i c o H i s t o r i c P r e s e r v a t i o n D i v i s i o n

Camino Real Honored During Preservation Month39th Annual Heritage Preservation Award Winners

Perhaps no road changed the cul-tural and physical landscape of NewMexico more than the Camino Real.Eleven segments are listed in the StateRegister of Cultural Properties, andnominations for up to 17 more arebeing prepared.

HPD chose to honor El CaminoReal de Tierra de Adentro duringHeritage Preservation Month 2011 inlight of concerted efforts to preservethe trail’s 300-year legacy, but also as alook forward to celebrating the StateCentennial in 2012 and the recent des-ignation of the Mexico section of thetrail as a World Heritage Site.

When the Spanish codified whatmany believe were Native Americantrade trails into the “Royal Road” link-ing Mexico City first to San Gabrielde Yuque-Ouinge-and a few yearslater to the permanent northern capi-tal of Santa Fe, they brought changesthat forever transformed the culturaland physical landscape of NewMexico.

The State Register listing is underconsideration for the NationalRegister by the National Park Service.The nomination highlights numerousinnovations we take for granted thatfirst appeared in the state via theCamino Real. Architectural influencesthat led to the Spanish-Pueblo Revival

and Territorial styles, new language,European agricultural practices andcrops, sheep, cattle and other domesti-cated livestock. New art forms, reli-gious expression, music, householdfurnishings, textiles, clothing, andtransportation means that had neverbeen used in New Mexico firstappeared with settlers who came up

the nation’s first internationalhighway.

“For three centuries, theCamino Real facilitated the inter-change of ideas, values and cus-toms … that created the social,religious, economic and politicallandscape of the border region,”according to the State Registernomination written by MerlanAssociates, LLC, a consulting andhistorical research firm based inSanta Fe.

The theme and recent effortsto raise awareness of the Caminosparked interest up and down thetrail prompting approximately 35Preservation Month events thatnever had been held before. Inall, there were nearly 70 eventsstatewide during May. Theyincluded archaeological hikes, his-toric district tours, ceremonies,

re-enactments and educational ses-sions that have become PreservationMonth traditions. In addition, specialtours of the Camino’s infamousJornada del Muerto and New MexicoSpaceport, which is built along thetrail, a documentary film class focusedon the road’s legacy, and numerousother events were staged for the first

DCA Secretary Veronica Gonzales and interim SHPOJan Biella present Acoma Pueblo Preservation DirectorTheresa Pasqual on her award.

Events

see Preservation Month, page 4

Su

mm

er

2

01

1

PR

ES

ER

VATIO

NS u m m e r 2 0 1 11 Heritage Preservation Month

2 News Briefs—Tax Credits, Endangered Resources, CAMP and more

5 Window Restoration College

6 Preservation Award Winners

8 New in the Registers

9 VOTE! This Place Matters

10 NM SiteWatch Involves Youth

11 OAS Recovers Prehistoric Bison Remains

11 Manhattan Project National Park

12 Future of Preservation is Youth

12 HPD Intern

HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION

PRESERVATION NEW MEXICOVolume 25 | Number 3

Preservation New Mexico is published by the NewMexico Historic Preservation Division, Department ofCultural Affairs. Preservation New Mexico is edited,designed and produced by Tom Drake, HPD PublicRelations. Readers are invited to submit information andarticles for publication. This publication also appears onHPD’s website.

Send photographs, stories and ideas by e-mail to TomDrake, tom.drake@state.nm.us., 505-827-4067.

This publication is financed with federal funds fromthe National Park Service, U.S. Dept.of the Interior andother sources. The contents and opinions do not necessari-ly reflect the views or policies of the Interior Department.

HPD programs receive federal financial assistance foridentification and protection of historic properties. UnderTitle VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 ofthe Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the AgeDiscrimination Act of 1975, the Interior Department pro-hibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, nationalorigin, disability or age in its federally assisted pro-grams. If you believe you have been discriminatedagainst in any program, activity, or facility as describedabove, or if you desire further information, please writeto: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service,1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.

New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

Bataan Memorial Building407 Galisteo, Suite 236Santa Fe, NM 87501

w w w. n m h i s t o r i c p r e s e r v a t i o n . o r g

photo credits (page and photographer):1 Tom Drakep.2 Robert Selina p.3 HPD file photos: Aztec Motel: Ed Bolesp.4 Camera: Talease Shipley; Salmon Ruins, David

Rasch; Boy Scouts: Jean Fulton; poster by Tom Drake5 Tom Drake6&7 Tom Drake & Harvey Kaplan8 Martinez Interior: Shannon Papin; Mother Mary

Katharine: HPD File Photo: CPRC; Tom Drake9 Woodall property: HPD file photo; “Mudder’s Day”

courtesy Beth O’Leary10 Bob Shiowitz and Norman Nelson11 Robert Dello-Russo; High Bay courtesy LANL12. Tom Drake

news briefsnews briefsTax Credit Success Stories

A $6.9 million adaptive re-use of the19th century Ilfeld Department Storethat nearly doubled the amount of roomsat the Historic Plaza Hotel in Las Vegashas been approved for federal preserva-tion tax credits.

Adjacent to the Plaza, the project care-fully joined the two buildings with a three-story connector that is not visible fromthe front, which faces the Las VegasPlaza. Opened for business for approxi-mately a year, construction was completedin phases, providing downtown Las Vegasbanquet and meeting hall facilities. Theexpansion was projected to increasetourism and economic development in thecity’s historic core.

Owned by Plaza Ilfeld, LLC, 2011Lifetime Achievement winner Wid Slick ismanaging member, the building qualifiedfor $1.4 million in credits that offset fed-eral income taxes for 19 years. The creditsare one of a few bricks-and-mortar incen-tives available to historic properties owners.

El Raton Theater has become acommunity gathering place in downtownRaton. Repairs were in part financed by apreservation loan from HPD and also bystate tax credits approved by the CPRC inJune. A new roof and heating system,electrical work and repairs to two store-fronts off of the lobby are eligible forcredits that can be taken against stateincome taxes for five years. The theaterwas completed in an atmospheric Moorisharchitectural style in 1930. The currentowners show via satellite MetropolitanOpera concerts and political events,screen free children’s matinees in summer

and run regular features.Outside of Socorro, the owners of the

Constancio Mierra House in SanAntonio have invested into the restorationof a 1907 late Victorian adobe house. Theentire project has been hands-on byRobert and Denise Selina, who began bysuccessfully nominating the historic prop-erty to the State Register in 2009. The list-ing made it eligible for state tax creditsand in June approved by the CPRC a inJune.. The Selinas restored the historicwood-framed window themselves byhand— removing, repairing, reassemblingand installing them. The house wasreroofed and chimneys rebuilt to theiroriginal height. The front porch was refur-bished, a new electrical system installed,interior woodwork repaired and the exteri-or restuccoed. San Antonio has long beenknown for the historic Owl Café listed inthe National Register in part for its associ-ation with the Manhattan Project. TheSelinas have restored another piece of thesmall town’s history; the home of one itsfirst builders and businessmen.

Chaco Landscape Endangered

The National Trust for HistoricPreservation placed the Chaco culturallandscape on its 11 Most EndangeredHistoric Places List. Hundreds of culturaland arachaeological sites including AztecRuins and Chaco Culture NationalHistoric Park are threatened by oil-and-gas development in northwestern NewMexico, the Trust said.

“To some extent, Aztec Ruins isendangered by energy development, eventhough we’re a small site,” Tracy Bodnar,chief ranger at Aztec Ruins NationalMonument, told the Daily Times inFarmington.” The architecture also can bedamaged when big trucks go by, with thevibrating effects.”

Bodnar said that while three active gaswells are inside the boundaries of AztecRuins, gas companies have cooperatedwith the monument to prevent damage.

Bear Butte in South Dakota—sacredto Native Americans—also was named asendangered.

Constancio Mierra House in San Antonio wasrestored with state tax credits.

2

Released June 14, the list also includesjazz great John Coltrane’s House on LongIsland, which has deteriorated due to lackof funds for making it an art-and-educa-tion center.

The Trust for the first time placed anentire city on its Watch List. It namedCharleston, S.C., as threatened by expand-ed cruise ship tourism that could harmthe city’s historic character. Residents andenvironmentalists sued Carnival CruiseLines alleging the company’s ships createnoise pollution and congestion in theirpreserved city.

One listing is devoted to historic sitesimperiled by state actions as legislaturesnationwide consider preservation fundingcuts. Michigan eliminated historic preser-vation tax credits, and Texas has consid-ered deep cuts with one proposal to elimi-nate its state historic preservation agency.The list has identified more than 200threatened one-of-a-kind historic treasuressince 1988. The entire list can be viewedat www.preservationnation.org.

Preservation Summer “CAMP”

Local preservation commissioners,planners, architects, lawyers and codeenforcers met with nationally recognizedexperts at a day-and-one-half CAMP ses-sion held in Las Vegas this month.

The city, one of eight New MexicoCertified Local Governments, hosted theJune 2 and 3 sessions, covering expensesthrough a grant from HPD. The annualCommission Assistance and MentoringProgram, or CAMP, provides interactivetraining for historic preservation commis-sions with a focus on fundamentals thatevery commission member and localpreservation advocate should know. Thetraining arms commissions with progres-sive local regulation expertise and outlines

strategy for the most effective protectionof local historic sites and landmarks.

Workshop topics focused on commis-sion training in historic preservation andincluded topics ranging from legal basicsrelated to local ordinances, developmentof preservation plans, standards andguidelines for design review, and publicinvolvement in local preservation activi-ties. Held at New Mexico HighlandsUniversity, attendees, included representa-tives from the Las Vegas, Santa Fe, SilverCity and Taos CLGs. Architects qualifiedfor 10 Architectural Continuing Educationcredits in health, safety and welfare. Morethan 25 people participated in the training.

CAMP “counselors” were JohnWilliams, founding partner of HoshideWilliams Architects from Snohomish,Washington and a member of theAdvisory Council on HistoricPreservation; Dan Becker, ExecutiveDirector of the Raleigh Historic DistrictsCommission; Pratt Cassity, Director ofthe Center for Community Design andPreservation at the University of Georgia;and Ramona Murphy Bartos, an attorneybased in Rincon, Georgia.

New Mexico CLGs can apply eachyear for grants to cover related educationcosts for local design review board mem-bers and staff.

Preservation Advocacy in D.C.For the second year, HPD could not

attend the annual NatationalConference of State HistoricPreservation Officers and meet person-ally with New Mexico’s Congressionaldelegation. So, former SHPO KatherineSlick and Navajo Nation THPO AlanDowner volunteered to take on the task.They lobbied for NPS preservation fund-ing for New Mexico and the nation’sSHPOs. Ms. Slick sent the following sum-mary of their meetings.

Armed with an introductory letter fromInterim SHPO Jan Biella, the 2009-2010HPD “Activities Report” and supporting docu-ments from the National Trust for HistoricPreservation, National Park Service andNCSHPO, we met with the delegation and staffto discuss preservation issues and requests. Theagreed-upon-by-all-partners request for 2012 forthe Historic Preservation Fund is $70 million or10% less than the 2008 funding level. We said

Sessions were held at the Ilfeld Auditorium,listed in the State and National Registers.

that for the second time in our collective memories,the request for funding for SHPOs ($50 million)and $11 million for THPOs was what theAdministration requested.

The $70 million HPF request has $9 mil-lion included for Save America’s Treasures andPreserve America in 2012; however, theAdministration has zeroed out funding for thoseprograms. The delegation representatives expressedtheir interest and willingness to continue fundingSAT and PA, recognizing the importance ofgrant monies, especially bricks-and-mortar money,to projects in New Mexico. We stressed theimportance of leveraging federal dollars, taxincentives and the number of jobs created.”

Demise of a Route 66 Icon

It was the oldest continuously operat-ed Route 66 motel in New Mexico andEast Central Avenue’s first auto court.Built in 1933, four years before Route66 was realigned to bypass Santa Fe andcome down Central Avenue throughAlbuquerque, the Aztec Auto Courtsuccumbed in part to a fragile economy.It had structural problems that com-bined with its small size of 20 guest-rooms would have made rehabilitationeconomically unfeasible, according toowner Jerry Landgraf.

Listed in the State and National reg-isters in 1993, the building became alocal and mostly beloved icon less for itsmodest use of Southwest VernacularStyle than as a folk art installationbeginning more than a dozen years ago.An Albuquerque Journal article chronicledthe Aztec’s last incarnation beginningwith an empty whiskey bottle left on theproperty and converted into a flowervase. More bottles appeared, more flow-ers and eventually people dropped offbroken tiles, statuary and found objects,enhancing an earlier attempt to restorethe old auto court’s original landscaping.

The neon sign, a replacement of theoriginal is expected to remain as a mem-ory of the motel.

Demolition of the Aztec took two weeks in June.

3

time.The events are a key component

of Preservation Month. They drawpublic participation in the thousands.State and national parks, cities andtowns, organizations and neighbor-hoods stage the events and HPD pub-lishes them in a Calendar of Events.

HPD would like to especially

Documentary filmmaking on the CaminoReal was presented by filmmaker JasonVan Camp and CARTA with funding by theNational Park Service. The late May ses-sion was held on the Jornada del Muertoand is one of several held at the end ofeach month through July. Chance Gordonparticipated through a sponsorship by Roband Rhonda Spence, of Hatch

Larry Baker, Salmon Ruins Museum direc-tor, leads a pictograph tour atDelgadito Canyon as part of the DinetahArchaeological Tour on May 14.

The poster is free to the public and fundedentirely by sponsorships through an HPDand New Mexico Heritage PreservationAlliance partnership.

Preservation Monthfrom page 1

thank the Camino Real de TierraAdentro Trail Association for itsefforts to infuse many of the newevents into our calendar. At the sametime, New Mexico State Parks, theSalmon Ruins Museum and ResearchCenter, the Folsom Museum,Tinkertown Museum and many othershave sponsored Preservation Month

events for many years andtheir continued participationforms part of the backboneof Preservation Month.

Poster

he annual poster—the office’s 23rd,featured a mid-1800’s improvement tothe Camino by the military on top ofLa Bajada, approximately 20 milessouth of Santa Fe.

Like all roads, the alignment of theCamino changed during its 300 yearsof use and this later cut provided analternative route for wagons and largecargo from an earlier one that fol-lowed the Santa Fe River Canyon.

The segment is very near the twoalignments of Route 66 that traversedLa Bajada, 600 feet above the RioGrande Valley that were the MotherRoad’s primary route until La Bajadawas bypassed in 1937.

Events help raise awareness. Mr. Baker’stour included a look at an entire rock artpanel was removed by thieves.

Boy Scout Troop 85 improvedthe Yost Escarpment trail headon the Camino during a Maycamp out.

Corporate SponsorsBureau of Land Management

Camino Real De Tierra Adentro Trail Assoc.

National Park Service

Watson Conserves

SponsorsArchaeological Society of New Mexico

Atkin Olshin Schade Architects; Crocker LTD;El Camino Real International Heritage Ctr;Victoria Jacobson, AIA; Marron and Assoc.,Inc.; MNMF-Friends of Archaeology/Ofc ofArchaeological Studies; Sal Martino; Will B.Murphey; National New Deal PreservationAssoc.; NM SiteWatch; NMDOT; Red Brick

Bldg Restoration Foundation; Katherine Slick;TRC Environmental Corp; Van Citters HistoricPreservation, LLC; In Memory of Robert J.and Florence M. Victor; XTO Energy, Inc.

4

T

5

Preservation Month — Window Restoration College

n estimated 16-million wood-framed, sash windows end up in land-fills every year. More than six-million ofthem were made from old-growthwood, and in most cases they aretrashed unnecessarily in the name ofenergy efficiency. These are among thefacts students of the BelvedereSchool for Hands-OnPreservation learn during win-dow restoration bootcamps.

Bob Yapp, who foundedthe school based in Hannibal,Missouri, in 2008, and has trav-eled the country for 20 yearsconducting similar workshops,debunked what he called “thelie” of vinyl windows at a five-day workshop held inAlbuquerque as part ofHeritage Preservation Month.According to Yapp, even anunrestored, double-hung wood-frame window with a storm ismore energy efficient than a vinylreplacement window.

“This madness is unnecessarybecause original windows can be madeto be as or more energy efficient than a

handymen, includ-ing two YouthConservationCorps members,enrolled in theworkshop at nocost. The City ofAlbuquerque wasable to sponsorthe training ses-sion through a$14,000 grant itreceived for beingenrolled in theCertified LocalGovernment pro-gram administeredby HPD.

Maryellen Hennessey, preserva-tion planner for the city, made herhistoric home available for theworkshop after two other resi-dences previously selected fellthrough. She contacted workshopparticipants by circulating fliersthrough contracting networks.Yapp said her home’s original win-dows would last another 100 yearsbecause of how they were restored.

All of the workers volunteeredtheir time to attend the sessionsand were certified by the schoolafter the five-day training, whichconcluded with a business session.They can be contacted for windowrestorations through theAlbuquerque Landmarks and

Urban Conservation Commission byreaching Ms. Hennessey.

replacement window and usually forless money,” says Yapp. “Original win-dows define being ‘green’.”

Restoring wood-frame windowskeeps them out of landfills, preservesimportant architectural elements ofhistoric homes and buildings, and doesnot require the use of petrochemicalsand nonrenewable resources to manu-facture replacement windows. Theproblem, Yapp says, is that there arefewer and fewer people who know

how to maintain wood-frame windows,which has made their repair for manyan unaffordable specialty.

“If we want people to keep woodwindows, we have to train them how tomaintain them,” Yapp said during theWindow Restoration College held at aSecond Empire Victorian-style home.

His theory, train more people tomaintain historic windows so the costof restoring them, which can reach astaggering $800 to $1,200 per window,can be more than cut in half.

“If the price is brought down to$400 per window and the owner can getNew Mexico’s 50-percent state historicpreservation income tax credit, then it’scompetitive,” Yapp said referring to thecredit available to properties listed inthe State Register or that contribute toan historic district. With the credit, arestored window could cost an econom-ical $200 a piece.

Approximately 10 contractors and

School founder Bob Yapp restores a window.

Built in 1903, the home was surrounded byorchards and market gardens at the edge oftown. Constructed of adobe, it was a standout with its shake-shingled, mansard roof.

Derryk Sena wasone of two YCCmembers who re-enforced skills heacquired restoringhistoric buildings inBernalillo.

Not only did Ms. Hennessey make her homeavailable for the sessions, she provided ahome-cooked lunch daily for the participants.

The 108-year-old windows were removed, tracks addedand rubber stripping installed that will make them air tight.Original counterweights were restrung and re-installed inthe original framing.

A

2011 Heritage Preservation Awards Winners

WIILLLLIIAAMM “WIIDD” SLLIICCKK — For 30 yearsdedicated to preserving, investing andbelieving in some of the City of Las Vegas’smost significant historic architecture.Beginning with the Plaza Hotel in1982—built in 1882, it is a cornerstone intown—Mr. Slick has been involved in morethan 16 rehabilitations. He recently complet-ed an adaptive re-use of the historic IlfeldBuilding adjacent to the Plaza. Wid sayswhat he is most proud of is being part of alarger effort to preserve so many buildingsdowntown.

HOOTTEELL ANNDDAALLUUZZ — For Goodman RealtyGroup’s rehabilitation of Albuquerque’s his-toric Hilton Hotel and re-opening it as theHotel Andaluz. The hotel’s lobby, restaurantand lounge are again an Albuquerque desti-nation and its presence is changing thedynamics of downtown. One of ConradHilton’s first hotels, U.S. Senator John F.Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson andactress Zsa Zsa Gabor stayed there, she asHilton’s bride. Darin Sand accepted theaward on behalf of the hotel and worked closely with HPD using fed-eral rehabilitation income-tax credits that were part of a complexfinancial package. The building is one of only two U.S. historic hotels tobe certified at the Gold level by LEED for energy saving innovations.

HOOTTEELL PAARRQQ CEENNTTRRAALL —For the adaptive re-use ofthe Santa Fe Hospital forAT&SF Railway Workers inAlbuquerque by DavidOberstein, Marc Bertram,Marquita Russel andElizabeth Cavasos. A crown-ing achievement in the

Huning Highlands Historic District, the hotel’s Apothecary Lounge, itswide hospital hallways, windows rooms and other features conform tothe hospitals’ original design.

MIIMMBBRREESS VAALLLLEEYY BRREEWWIINNGG COOMMPPAANNYY —For Bryan Reedy’s adaptive re-use of his-toric 200 South Gold Avenue in Deminginto a microbrewery and restaurant. Mr.Reedy overcame financial challenges in asmall town where downtown revitalizationcan be challenging. The converted 1886stables and meat market opened a yearago and is drawing visitors and localsdowntown.

CHHRROONNIICCLLEESS OOFF TTHHEE TRRAAIILL — For Jean Fultonand Catherine Kurland (pictured with CPRC mem-ber Ronald Toya) who publish the quarterly jour-nal of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro TrailAssociation. This chronicle of the Royal Road isinformative and has made the rare transition froma largely in-house publication to attracting abroad readership. Recent Camino preservationefforts and historic accounts are featured.

n even dozen Heritage Preservation Awards were presented to 19 individualsand organizations on Friday, May 13.

It was the 39th annual awards ceremony, a time when the Cultural PropertiesReview Committee rewards outstanding achievement in the field. The committeeis HPD’s policy and advisory panel. Department of Cultural Affairs SecretaryVeronica Gonzales was master of ceremonies, personally presenting awardssigned by Governor Susana Martinez, CPRC Vice-Chairman and the interim StateHistoric Preservation Officer Jan Biella.

Awards this year included important architectural rehabilitations that havemade major changes in their communities. The CPRC also recognized outstand-ing efforts to preserve other elements of New Mexico history, including language,the growth of medicine, El Camino Real and downtown areas statewide.

HPD hosts the ceremony, pulling out all the stops to make the occasion mem-orable for award winners. Held in the auditorium of the historic Scottish RiteCenter, it opened with Chris Abeyta’s Spanish guitar music followed by award presentations by CPRC members and closedwith “Las Mañanitas.” The center has donated the building for eight years for the awards in part because it believes stronglyin preserving architectural and cultural heritage. A reception catered entirely by staff with refreshments followed, along withadditional congratulations in the courtyard and dining hall of the 1912 Moorish-style temple.

A

L i f e t i m e A c h i e v e m e n t

A r c h i t e c t u r a l H e r i t a g e

H e r i t a g e P u b l i c a t i o n

6

NEEWW MEEXXIICCOO MEEDDIICCAALL SOOCCIIEETTYY — Forenriching New Mexico’s bookshelf bychronicling the sometimes overlooked histo-ry of modern medicine in the state sinceWorld War II. Modern Medicine in NewMexico: the State Medical Society from1949-2009 is illustrated with historicalphotos and anecdotes. It tells of NewMexico’s growth from a quaint medicalbackwater—at times dominated with whatthe book refers to as “agingquacks”—into the national healthcareinnovator it is today. Writer and

researcher Michael Dupont (speaking; members Paul Akmajian &Daniel Derksen are behind him) researched newspapers, the Society’sarchives, meeting minutes and interviewed more than 75 people tocomplete the 300-page book.

THHEERREESSAA PAASSQQUUAALL — For pre-serving Native American lan-guage and the cultural heritageof Acoma Pueblo. Ms. Pasqualcreated materials for teachersand volunteers to teach the Kereslanguage to Acoma children. Sheforged a successful partnershipbetween Acoma and the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation, andin 2006 was named site directorof Acoma-Sky City. She is one oftwo New Mexico advisors to the Trust and is recognized as nationalpreservation leader. She is pictured with nominators and former CPRCmembers Nancy Meem Wirth and Beth O’Leary; former CPRCChairman Alan “Mac” Watson, interim-SHPO Jan Biella and interim-Director Sam Cata.

DIIAANNEE PRRAATTHHEERR & GAARRYY COOZZZZEENNSS

— For preserving on site, the lastsurviving Civilian Conservation Corpsstructure from the Great Depressionin Smokey Bear Ranger District. U.S.Forest Service management wantedto disassemble Nogal Mesa Barnand rebuild it on a more convenientsite. Diane and Gary knew thatwould destroy the barn’s historic

integrity, worked with HPD and recruited summer interns to restore thebarn on site. Diane is pictured with CPRC member Ronald Toya.

OLLDD CAANNYYOONN ROOAADD POOWWEERR PLLAANNTT — For thesuccess of the Canyon Neighborhood Association,Victor Johnson Architects, and City of Santa Fe inpreserving Santa Fe’s first hydroelectric plant. Theonce derelict property was preserved through apartnership initiated by the Neighborhood associ-ation. Accepting for the city is Mayor David Coss.

T r i b a l H e r i t a g e

C i t i z e n A d v o c a c y “ R i t a H i l l ”

C o m m u n i t y P r e s e r v a t i o n P l a n n i n g

MAAIINNSTTRREEEETT DDEE LAASS VEEGGAASS — Foruniting citizens, students, businessesand others into a successful FaçadeSquad that preserves historic archi-tecture. The Facade Squad is anentirely volunteer effort with localbusinesses donating supplies andfood for weekend repairs to historicbuildings in need of a facelift.Volunteers scrape paint, refinish sur-faces and paint building facades. Local MainStreet director CindyCollins accepted the award for the organization from SecretaryGonzales and CPRC member Douglas Boggess.

HIISSTTOORRIICC SAANNTTAA FEE FOOUUNNDDAATTIIOONN — For 50 years of preservationadvocacy and innovation and the recentGustave Bauman House restoration. Co-founded by architect John Gaw Meem andwriter Alan Vedder, the organization hasinitiated and holds several preservationeasements. It restores some of Santa Fe’smost remarkable architecture and rentsbuildings to artists, preservationists and oth-ers. Many of the properties are opened tothe public for tours each Mother’s Day dur-ing Heritage Preservation Month. DirectorElaine Bergman is pictured at the ceremony.

NEEWW MEEXXIICCOO MAAIINNSTTRREEEETT — For 26 years of community work topreserve New Mexico’s historic downtowns and providing a preserva-tion framework for economic revitalization. New Mexico MainStreetemphasizes preservation by encourag-ing its 24 communities to completeState Register of Cultural Propertiesnominations, often the foundation forbuilding community preservation. Itprovides economic incentives for down-town improvements and helps initiatenew preservation programs. MainStreetpartners with HPD on the MainStreetRevolving Loan Fund and Arts andCultural Districts. The agency’s JulieBlanke, Heather Barrett and DirectorRich Williams are pictured.

H e r i t a g e O r g a n i z a t i o n

Chris Abeyta opensthe ceremony.

Current and former CPRC members Clarence Fielder,Beth O’Leary, Mac Watson, Rick Hendricks, awardwinner Catherine Kurland and Ronald Toya.

7

8

New in the State Register— What’s Been Added, Removed and Changed—New CPRC Meets for F i rst T ime

he Cultural Properties ReviewCommittee has listed a Hispanic resi-dential complex built on propertyincluded in a 1796 land grant in theState Register of Cultural Properties. Italso determined that much of the St.Catherine’s Industrial Indian Schoolcampus in Santa Fe comprises an his-toric district.

New CPRC members attended theirfirst meeting June 10. They delisted aDepression-era relocation farm in seri-ous disrepair south of Albuquerque,and removed a saloon heavily damagedby fire from a State and National his-toric district in Truth or Consequences.

Martinez Property

Buildings on the Martinez propertyin Cañon near Taos date back to the1820s. Although they have been alteredover time, most retain integrity indesign, workmanship and setting. Thecommittee also felt it is significant thefamily was associated with the propertyfor approximately 200 years, and that itrepresents New Mexico settlement pat-terns. It was one of six small parcelsthat were part of the original DonFernando de Taos Land Grant locatednear Taos Pueblo.

“The buildings date through the1940s and represent the vernacular evo-lution of a property owned for close to200 years by the Martinez family,” TerryMoody, HPD Register coordinator said.

Family members continued to liveon the four-acre parcel through 1998 asa multi-generational household, accord-ing to census and other records. Thelayout of buildings around a centralcourtyard is typical of Hispanic archi-tecture from the period and common inNew Mexico. Mature landscapingincludes several heritage trees, and theacequia’s original path bordering the

property never was altered.Carmen Acosta Johnson, who is the

second owner of the property with herhusband Dale, attended the meeting andsaid they did not necessarily purchase itfor its long history.

“It was cheap enough that we couldafford it and we’ve been rehabbing itever since,” she said.

Its history was researched by con-sultants Heather Barrett and ShannonPapin and funded by Taos through aCertified Local Government grant. Ms.Papin traced descendants of the originalowners using FaceBook. From informa-tion gathered online, she telephoned all20 Denver telephone book listings forAlvarado, to find a descendent of theoriginal owners. Emily Alvarado wasable to provide oral history that helpedascertain the Martinez family likelydonated part of their land to establishthe Nuestra Senora de Dolores-CañonChapel— across the street— which ishistorically significant to the community.

St. Catherine’s

The school issignificant for theeducation ofNative Americans,its architecture,and for its associa-tion with wealthyPhiladelphiaheiress KatherineDrexel who estab-lished the schooland later was canonized.

Though many campus buildingswere listed in the State Register in 2001,the nomination needed clarification toidentify the property as an historic dis-trict and to give the district a boundary.The CPRC voted that campus buildingsand a small cemetery comprise the dis-trict and represent the school’s 101-yearhistory. Contributing buildings werelandmarked by the City of Santa Fe in2006.

The campus is dominated by the1887 adobe, three-and-one-half storyMain Building, thought to be the tallestearthen building ever built in NewMexico. The building can be seen fromnumerous Santa Fe vantage points. Itsthick adobe exterior walls are fortified

by buttresses and several interior adobewalls form high-ceilinged, smoothlyplastered rooms, many with marble fire-places. The “Our Lady of Guadalupe ofthe Americas” fresco painted byEdward O’Brien surrounds one ofthem in a reception room.

Interested parties addressed thecommittee regarding the campus andthe boundaries for the district. One sug-gestion was to include the athletic fieldto recognize the importance of athleticsto the school’s students, but the CPRCdeclined. The campus is partially bor-dered by the Veterans AdministrationSanta Fe National Cemetery, which islooking for adjacent land for expansion.

New CPRC Members

For two of the members, it was theirfirst official meeting. Douglas Boggess,of Albuquerque, is the committee’s his-toric archaeologist; and Ronald Toya, amember of Jemez Pueblo is the tribalmember. There are nine positions onthe committee with three of themvacant. Vice-Chairman Rick Hendricks,the New Mexico State Historian, servesby statute while the others are appoint-ed by the governor. Clarence Fielder, ofLas Cruces, specializes in history; archi-tect Reginald Richey, of Lincoln, is thearchitectural history member. ArchitectGeorge Bolling, of Elephant Butte, wasappointed June 15.

Removed from the Register

The committee agreed that theWoodall Farmstead in Bosque Farmsin Valencia County had fallen into disre-pair and lost much of the historicintegrity that made it worthy of listingas a Depression-era property. It was oneof many such small farms built withfederal funds to resettle owners andworkers at failed farms in Taos andHarding counties to Bosque Farms as

T

Interior of the Martinez Property

Mother Mary Katharine

Douglas Boggess, Clarence Fielder, ReginaldRichey, Rick Hendricks and Ronald Toya

9

part of a New Deal program that assist-ed rural, poor and migrant workers. TheVillage of Bosque Farms plans to pur-chase the property from the Woodallestate for a recreational field. Both thevillage and the estate petitioned HPD toremove it from the State Register.

The committee determined the for-mer Buckhorn Saloon, grocery andapartment located in the Hot SpringsBathhouse Commercial and Main StreetHistoric District in Truth orConsequences no longer could beincluded as one of the district’s approxi-mately 150 contributing buildings.Severely damaged by a fire in 2005, theroof partially collapsed and the buildingsuffered significant water damage. Someof the adobe walls were partially demol-ished. HPD surveyed the property inMay, finding few salvageable materials.The property owner hoped the commit-tee would allow additional time toexplore ways to fund the necessaryrepairs. The committee deliberated andconcluded that the integrity of originalmaterials, workmanship and design hadbeen lost. Damage is not apparent fromthe street facade, but the city con-demned it as unsafe and a health hazardin 2010, requesting it be designated asnoncontributing.

Vote on Preservation — This Place Matters

When the Woodall property was listed in2001, its nearly abandoned state made it anidea candidate for preservation. Unfor-tunately the Register nomination did not leadto saving it and it continued to deteriorate.

church in Las Cruces and twohistoric schools—one the sole reminderof the Albuquerque Indian School—canbe voted for as the best candidate for acash award in the 2011 “This PlaceMatters Community Challenge.”

More than 100 cultural sites, andorganizations working to preserve them,are nominated in the challenge spon-

sored by the National Trust for HistoricPreservation. To view a list of the nom-inees nationwide and to vote for one ofNew Mexico’s candidates, please visit:http://www.preservationnation.org/take-action/this-place-matters/. Voting isopen through June 30, and the top threecandidates receive $25,000, $10,000 and$5,000 respectively.

Phillips Chapel

Phillips Chapel CME symbolizescommunity preservation in action. It isbeing restored through private dona-tions, and volunteer and student labor.People of all backgrounds work on thechapel, one handful of adobe mud at atime.

The church was listed in the Stateand National Registers in 2003 for itsassociation with Las Cruces’ AfricanAmerican Community. When LasCruces segregated its schools, PhillipsChapel became a school solely for blackchildren from 1925 -1934.

The humble chapel was built in1912. Past efforts to maintain the build-ing resulted in a coating of paintedcement plaster that trapped moisture inthe adobe walls. They began to crumbleand melt resulting in rotting floor joistsand serious structural problems. Manyof the chapel’s adobe blocks are beingreplaced with ones built on site and tra-ditional plaster applied. Restorationbegan with a Doña Ana CommunityCollege course in adobe preservation,but the class was dropped. Now, dedi-cated volunteers are completing theproject on their own.

Northern New Mexico College

The Spanish American NormalSchool—known now as The El RitoCampus of Northern New MexicoCollege—has long provided access to acurriculum that allows students to com-pete in a changing economy while sus-taining traditional practices.

The El Rito Campus currently hous-es the Traditional Arts Programs ofAdobe Construction, Spanish ColonialFurniture Making, Weaving, Retablopainting, Bulto wood carving and stan-dard academic and vocational programs.Students in an advanced adobe con-struction class learn hands-on tradition-al building practices. The school is nom-inated for its commitment to maintain-ing sustainable traditions that haveserved the community for generationsand promoting them as models that canhelp support communities near and far.

Albuquerque Indian School

Historic Albuquerque, Inc., is draw-ing attention to the remaining buildingon the Albuquerque Indian School cam-pus. Faced with demolition, theEmployees Dormitory and ClubBuilding is one of the few survivingCalifornia Mission-Revival-style build-ings in the city.

In 1931, it was designed and built byNative American students under theleadership of Joe Padilla, of IsletaPueblo, who headed the school’s car-pentry division. The in-house effortsaved the federal government $40,000 inrelated costs.

The club building had spacious liv-ing quarters for single and married AISemployees, a lounge, and a large diningroom used for proms and other festivi-ties. The school operated for 101 years.providing off-reservation industrialtraining to Native Americans. By 1912more than 300 students attended itseight primary grades. By 1925 enroll-ment increased to 800 students whengrades 11 and 12 were added.

The Albuquerque Indian Schoolcontinued operating until 1982, when itsprogram was transferred to the Santa FeIndian School, also largely demolished.

A

“Mudder’s Day” team at the PreservationMonth chapel event in May.

10

SiteWatch — A High School Student’s First-hand Account ldo Leopold High School in Silver City, the Youth Conservation Corps, the

Southwest chapter of HPD’s New Mexico SiteWatch, and community partners areworking together to provide cultural resource employment opportunities for theyouth of southwest New Mexico.

The goal is for students to learn job skills through experiential education, andgain appreciation for protecting, conserving, and enhancing local resources. At thesame time the project enhances natural, historical, cultural, and recreational assets.

The students join an archaeology crew to protect and preserve cultural resources,and teach others about them while earning credit and getting paid. Partners includethe Gila National Forest, Town of Silver City, New Mexico SiteWatch, GilaConservation Center, Grant County Archaeological Society, and Mimbres CultureHeritage Site.

Aldo Leopold teacher Harolene Pitts started the program in 2009 and enlisted theSouthwest SiteWatch chapter and local archaeological society to help encourage youthlearn about the heritage that surrounds them. Interested students participated in anHPD SiteWatch training and became stewards at sites including the Dragonfly RockArt Site at the Fort Bayard Game Refuge. The Town of Silver City, a Certified LocalGovernment, and the national forest became partners. By the following spring, stu-dents formed the first YCC archaeology crew and began monitoring and document-ing the Dragonfly and Ursa Major sites, and filed reports with local SiteWatch. Theirstudies included New Mexico prehistory and Mimbres culture.

The program was expanded in 2010 and 2011 when volunteer site steward andMimbres site manager Marilyn Markel became staff supervisor of the student crew.

ALHS student Adam Snider completed his YCC internship and graduated in May2011. He plans to enroll in college this fall and pursue an archaeology career. Hewrote an account of his experience.

“Sometime in late November orDecember 2009, Harolene Pittsapproached me about a YCC crew thatwould be starting in the spring, theArchaeology SiteWatch Crew. I signedup for the next semester. I’ve alwaysbeen interested in people, and interpret-ing the past through a place that stillexists now seemed just to click with me.

After attending the SiteWatch train-ing held in Truth or Consequences withmy crew, I really was inspired. I appliedmyself a lot that semester so I would beguaranteed a spot on the crew the nextyear.

The crew worked at two differentsites, the Ursa Major and Dragonfly sites.From the first day, I could tell I wasextremely bought into archaeologicalpreservation. On many occasions I foundmyself in bitter-sweet moods of discon-tent with modern humanity’s blemish onthe past, our irreverence towards the

people who lived here before us.Gradually, I picked up the ability to

put historical, and pre-historical, artifactsinto a context I could imagine. In mysenior year at ALHS, I began to emergeas a leader in my crew, the specialist, theone who really gets what’s going on.More importantly, I began developing atype of respectful affection for the peo-ple whose sites I was preserving.

It’s hard for me to put into words myconnection to these sites. “Sites” nowseems too impersonal a word for mytaste. These were real people, and theirproperty and legacy deserve to berespected and at least learnedabout—a belief I hold at the highestlevel of importance as I am also commit-ted to maintain these sites as aSiteWatch steward.

I am the only one on the currentcrew, with the exception of our supervi-sor, Marilyn Markel, who knows how tofill out the SiteWatch forms and whoreally has any archaeological experi-ence at all, and I am considered a men-tor to the other crew members. I alwaysfind it a pleasure to help my co-workersfind their own interpretation of a picto-

graph, or discuss why or why not a fami-ly of Native Americans may have livedin the area we’re studying.

Using the aforementioned reasons ofmoral belief and personal interest andpast experiences, I am now starting apreliminary internship with BobSchiowitz, the USFS Archaeologist in theGila Forest. My internship includes officework and field work in the Silver CityForest Service district. It is YCC thathelped me find my passion for archaeol-ogy and got me onto what I think to bemy future career path—archaeology.”

A

UNM-Valencia students receive SiteWatchtraining from Professor John Anderson.

Adam Snider records prehistoric features near theBurro Mountains.

Editor’s Note: New Mexico SiteWatchis coordinated by HPD archaeologistNorm Nelson. He provided background-information and Adam Snider's story.

11

Archaeology — DCA Scientists Recover Bison Bones Near Quemado Lake

bison that likely was killed in aflooded arroyo nearly 1,000 years agowas discovered recently on a ranch nearQuemado Lake.

Dr. Robert Dello-Russo, DeputyDirector at the New Mexico Office ofArchaeological Studies in Santa Fe, andGary Morgan, Curator of Paleontologyat the NM Museum of Natural Historyin Albuquerque, spent a long dayrecently excavating an extremely well-preserved bison skeleton.

The find on Buzz Easterling’s ElCaso Ranch, near Quemado Lake inwestern New Mexico, was reported bythe owner and his assistant CathyCarrejo. They led the two researchers toa moderately deep arroyo, known asParadise Canyon, where the bones wereprotruding from the steep arroyo cutbank, about 3 meters (10 feet) belowthe surface.

Dello-Russo and Morgan estimatethe bones to be the remains of a mod-ern era, adolescent or young adult,female Bison bison. No artifacts wereobserved in association with the bones.The degree of preservation at the pale-ontological find was very high and everyskeletal element except the lowermandible (jaw) was present.

From these observations, it is likelythat the bison may be only 1,000 yearsold or less. The arrangement of thebones at a sharp bend in the arroyo,along with details of the soils aroundthe bones, suggest that it was sweptdownstream by a flash flood in anancient arroyo and slammed into theside of the drainage, where it remainedburied until recently. Analysis of collect-ed samples is on-going.

This research provides additional evi-dence for the prehistoric presence ofbison in western New Mexico. To date,only five or six prehistoric locationswith bison remains are known, includ-ing the Water Canyon Paleoindian site,near Socorro, Bat Cave, and a site onprivate land near Pie Town. The ElCaso bones are currently curated at theNew Mexico Museum of NaturalHistory.

AThe bison skull with a single horn core visible.

Some of the bones in the side of the arroyowall as they appeared prior to excavation.

Tools used during the dig and bones in bagsand buckets as delivered to the museum.

Editors note: Dr. Robert Dello-Russo,deputy director of the Office ofArchaeological Studies, provided thephotos and account of the bison remainsexcavated on May 24.

Tri-State Manhattan Project National Historical Park

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman’s officewill pursue legislation to bring threeManhattan Project sites in New Mexicoand two other states into the NationalPark Service system.

The legislation, which he is co-spon-soring with U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Washington, would authorize NPS todevelop a management plan and likelyinvolve a Congressional appropriationin Fiscal Year 2013 to establish theparks, according to Jorge Silva, an aideto Sen. Bingaman.

Mr. Silva said the senator is excitedwith a Department of the Interior studyrecommending the national park. Thestudy has received Department ofEnergy concurrence.

The park would comprise resourcesin Los Alamos; Oak Ridge Tennessee;and Hanford, Washington. DOE andNPS recommendations in support ofthe park are a crucial step in preservingManhattan Project properties. By desig-nating portions of each facility a park, itwould make it possible for this andfuture generations to connect with apart of world history that continues toshape world politics, economics, scienceand society.

HPD has worked with preservation-ists at Los Alamos National Laboratoryand others for more than a decade topreserve V-Site, which was largelydestroyed in the 2000 Cerro Grandeforest fire and is threatened by LasConchas fire. The High Bay Buildingrestoration was completed in 2007, and.work is underway to restore the nearby

The restored High Bay Building. Notes, datesand formulas jotted down by scientists on itsinterior walls still can be read by visitors.

Gun Site. They are the last two stand-ing buildings at Los Alamos associatedwith assembly of the world’s firstnuclear weapons.

Preservation Month — Forum: Youth are the Future of Preservation

s preservation about restoring build-ings, conserving the environment andour cultural landscapes, or is it aboutkeeping alive the heritage that identifieswho we are? And how do we increaseadvocacy as the current generation ofpreservationists age?

These questions and more arose at aforum sponsored by CornerstonesCommunity Partnerships at aHeritage Preservation Monthevent that drew about 70 peoplein Santa Fe last month.

On the panel of “HistoricPreservation: Is it Relevant?” wereformer executive director of theNational Trust for HistoricPreservation Richard Moe; formerNew Mexico State HistoricPreservation Officer KatherineSlick; Acoma Pueblo’s HistoricPreservation Office DirectorTheresa Pasqual; Jake Barrow,Cornerstones’ program director; andformer Keeper of the National Register,Jerry Rogers.

Most cities have preserved and revi-talized parts of their historic cores.Buildings important for their architec-ture and community significance havebeen saved. Scores of archaeologicalsites have been recorded and some pre-served in near museum quality for gen-erations of visitors to experience. Roadand trail sections are being preservedand the concept of historic preservationtoday includes cultural landscapes, lan-guage preservation and many facets ofheritage.

The question of preservation’songoing relevancy comes at a timewhen the field is faced with financialand political challenges. The lastremaining building on the AlbuquerqueIndian School campus and one ofAlbuquerque’s few California MissionRevival Style buildings faces demolition.So does the city’s Aztec Auto Court,which was the oldest operating motelon Route 66 in New Mexico. SaveAmerica’s Treasures, which has madepossible 1,100 preservation projectssince 1998—20 of them in New

Mexico—is targeted for eliminationboth by the Obama Administration andin the Republican Spending ReductionAct and the National Trust has closedits SAT office. But still there are manypreservation triumphs as witnessed inthis year’s Heritage Preservation Awardwinners (see page 6).

Preservation as Sustainability

As Mr. Moe stated, it takes 45 yearsto make up the energy used to demolisha building for a new one put up in itsplace. Certainly this is relevant in a timewhen many question the effect ofgreenhouse gases on our environmentsince buildings account for 43 percentof the gases spewed into our atmos-phere.

The National Historic PreservationAct was one of the nation’s first broadbased environmental acts, said Ms. Slick.

Ms. Pasqual said Native Americanhistory is written on the landscape, notin the history books. The ongoingstruggle to preserve cultural landscapesensures preservation’s continued rele-vance she said, for without it, we severour connection to place.

“Preservation is about people andputting the ground under our feet so weknow who we are,” said Mr. Rogers.

A Youth Movement

All the panelists agreed—surveying aroom filled mostly with middle-agedand older people—that to keep preser-vation viable, there must be an appeal to

youth. Mr. Barrow’s nonprofit reachesout to youth. It recently enlisted 15 stu-dents who manufactured 250 adobes torestore San Miguel Chapel in Santa Fe, aSave America’s Treasures project involv-ing HPD.

Not that an older generation is readyby any means to step down. Mr.

Barrow recounted the 25 execu-tives with an age range of about35 to 50 who spent six hoursmaking 350 adobe bricks torestore the Santo DomingoTrading Post. It was nearlydestroyed in a fire 10 years ago.

He also said there must be aneffort to engage youth throughportable media players and popu-lar websites such as YouTube,although Ms. Slick noted thathands-on preservation requirescraftsmanship and suggestedshop be resumed in schools.

Forum panel: Jerry Rogers, Richard Moe, Theresa Pasqual, JakeBarrow, moderator Kak Slick. Robin Jones, Cornerstone’s execu-tive director.

I

HPD Intern Lauren Alberti

Lauren Alberti, a senior majoring inAnthroplogy at UNM, has beenresearching Hispanic heritage, assistedwith the recent Martinez Property StateRegister nomination worked onPreservation Month and helped digitizeRegister nominations for online access.She learned of the HPD internship onour website.

Ms. Alberti, whose experienceincludes a dig at Ostia Antica nearRome, Italy, said she diversified herpreservation knowledge while at HPD,which had been focused on archaeology.

After five months at HPD, she isreturning to UNM for summer and fallclasses.

12