Santa Fe

Santa Fe is the fourth largest city in New Mexico and the oldest capital city in the United States.  The plaza is the heart of the city. 

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.  It was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 and 1886 on the site of an older adobe church, La Parroquia (built in 1714–1717). An older church on the same site, built in 1626, was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The new cathedral was built around La Parroquia, which was dismantled once the new construction was complete. A small chapel on the north side of the cathedral was kept from the old church.  The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi was officially elevated to a basilica by Pope Benedict XVI on October 4, 2005, when it was named the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Some of the relics on display include:

A cross made from the wood of the original cross. It did not specify if this was the cross to which Jesus was nailed, since he was not the first person to be nailed to a cross, especially in his time, but... it's a church, Jesus is all over this place, so I must assume that Christianity overlooks that little detail. 

A piece of Mary's veil. 

The oldest house in the US is in Santa Fe.  Tree rings date the house to about 1650. Some believe the structure may be much older, perhaps, dating to the 1200s AD.  There’s not a lot of documentation about the origins of this house. It’s built on the site ruins of older Pueblo settlements which had been abandoned. The Tlaxcalans and Spanish who settled along the river probably followed the practice of the Pueblo people and used the land down to the river for farming. 

Recognized as the Oldest Church in the United States is the San Miguel Mission.  The Mission was built by Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico in the early 1600s, under the direction of Fray Alonso de Benavides. During the Pueblo Indian rebellion of 1680, the roof was burned and destroyed. After resettling Santa Fe, in 1694 General Diego de Vargas had a new roof constructed and repairs continued until 1710.

The New Mexico State Capitol is the only round state capitol in the United States, and is known informally as "the Roundhouse.  The building was designed to resemble the Zia Sun Symbol when viewed from above, with four entrance wings that protrude from the main cylindrical volume. Architecturally, the Capitol is a blend of New Mexico Territorial Revival style and neoclassical influences. Above each entrance is a stone carving of the State Seal of New Mexico. The building has four levels, one of which is below ground.

We visited the Railyard district the headed back to our motorbike since the meter was almost up.

On our walk back we saw so great Street Art, but this was our favorite.