Don Pedro de Peralta, at that time Governor of Spanish New Mexico, founded La Villa Real de la Santa Fe at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in 1607. Three years later in 1610, Peralta made it the capital of the province. In 1848 the territory was ceded to the United States.
At the beginning of the 19th-century, the town became a trade center at the end of the Santa Fe Trail.
Santa Fe is not only the highest state capital but also the oldest continuously inhabited state capital in the US.
Today the city of Santa Fe has a population of about 84,000 inhabitants (in 2018), some 145,000 people live in its metropolitan area (Santa Fe County).
The city is home to three private liberal arts colleges: St. John's College, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, and the Southwestern College, a consciousness-centered graduate school; plus the public Santa Fe Community College and the Institute of American Indian Arts, a college focused on Native American art.
Santa Fe points of interest:
List of Tourist Attractions
Historic places:
New Mexico State Capitol, the only round state capitol in the US, it is known as "the Roundhouse". The Capitol building was designed to resemble the ancient Sun symbol of New Mexico's Zia people, a red circle with four groups of four rays pointing in four directions. The sacred Zia sun symbol is also on the flag of the state of New Mexico. New Mexico State Capitol houses the New Mexico State Legislature and the Office of the Governor.
The Santa Fe Historic District has two national historic landmarks,
the Santa Fe Plaza, a traditional small city-square in Spanish-American colonial style, known as the Plaza, a one-block square and the core of the city; and the
Palace of the Governors (El Palacio Real), an adobe building which served as the seat of New Mexico's government for centuries, it now houses the New Mexico History Museum (palaceofthegovernors.org).
El Rancho de Las Golondrinas (golondrinas.org) is a former ranch which has been recreated as a Spanish Colonial living history museum.
San Miguel Mission, also known as San Miguel Chapel, a Spanish colonial mission church built in the early 17th century.
Museums:
Museum of New Mexico (www.newmexicoculture.org), the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs is the umbrella organization of eight museums and several historic sites.
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (indianartsandculture.org), the Laboratory of Anthropology, the museum is dedicated to Native American art and culture.
Museum of International Folk Art (internationalfolkart.org) is a state-run museum with the world’s most extensive collection of international folk art.
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian (wheelwright.org), contemporary and historic Native American art.
Visual arts:
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum (okeeffemuseum.org), the museum is dedicated to the artistic legacy of Georgia O'Keeffe.
New Mexico Museum of Art (nmartmuseum.org) a state-run art gallery of the Museum of New Mexico and the oldest art museum in New Mexico.
Performing arts:
Santa Fe Opera (santafeopera.org) unconventional open sided opera house.
Lensic Performing Arts Center (lensic.org) a movie theater and vaudeville house.
Hotels:
La Fonda Hotel (lafondasantafe.com), La Fonda on the Plaza is the grand dame of Santa Fe's hotels.
Churches:
Loretto Chapel is a contributing property in Santa Fe's historic district, the former Roman Catholic church is now a museum and sometimes used as a wedding chapel.
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the Romanesque Revival style Roman Catholic cathedral was built between 1869 and 1887.
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