Santa Fe was founded by Mexican colonialists in 1610 with the establishment of the San Miguel Mission. It is the oldest city that serves as a state capital, and the state capital at the highest elevation, at 7,199 feet.
San Miquel Chapel is the oldest church in the United States. The original church was built in 1598 to serve a small congregation of soldiers, laborers, and native people. The current church building was built around 1610. A portion was destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt of 1640. http://sanmiguelchapel.org/ (Click on photos to enlarge.)
The Palace of the Governors sits on the north side of the central plaza in Old Santa Fe. The Mexican government began construction of the Palace in 1610, making it the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States. In the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Mexicans were expelled and the Pueblo people occupied the Palace. Archaeological exploration at the site shows that that the Pueblo people did extensive modifications to the Palace to convert it to the traditional Pueblo style. When Mexican rule was restored, the building once again served as the seat of the government. Today, the building is a museum, well worth visiting along with the adjacent history museum.
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, constructed between 1869 and 1886 in the Romanesque Revival style.
The Lensic Performing Arts Center, with its pseudo Moorish archtecture, completed in 1831.
Art galleries line the street on Canyon Road
The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
The Loretto Chapel was constructed beginning in 1872 as the convent chapel to be named Our Lady of Light Chapel. The “Miraculous Stair” in the Loretto Chapel. Legend has it that the circular staircase, which is constructed with no nails, was completed by St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters.
The Santuario de Guadalupe in Santa Fe, built in 1777, is the oldest, still-standing shrine built in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States.
Along the road to the Santa Fe ski area (10,350 feet base elevation) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
