Over 200,000 hand-made mud bricks were used to build the imposing Cristo Rey Church in Santa Fe. Housed within is the stone reredos, which were originally commissioned by Gov. Marin del Valle in 1760.
Massive on the outside, the interior is elegant in extreme detail.
Courtyard of the Donaciano Vigil House
This hidden courtyard has unusual charm acquired with age. It is part of the original Donaciano Vigil house of the 1830’s. Vigil was Secretary to Gov. Manuel Armijo during the Mexican regime, as Secretary of New Mexico under Gov. Kearney in 1846, and later as Civil Governor among other prominent positions.
The Palace of the Governors
Stately and historic, the Palace of the Governors on the Plaza in old Santa Fe was part of extensive Casa Reales as constructed in 1610-12 as the larger portion of a fortress and house of government for the Kingdom of New Mexico under Spanish rule.
Now, officially the Museum of New Mexico, it houses a magnificent collection of early Spanish and Indian artifacts and The Hall of the Modern Indian, to the rear of the patio, has an entire Pueblo reconstruction.
These venerable walls housed the governments of the Pueblo Indians from 1680 to the DeVargas Reconquest, the Spanish Empire 1610-1680 and 1693-1821; The Empire of Mexico 1821-1822; the Republic of Mexico 1823-1846; the U.S. Territory of New Mexico 1846-1900, and for a short time in 1862 for the U.S. Confederate Army.