The Guide to New Mexico Architecture


A LIVING PROJECT: Take a virtual tour of our state’s important and distinctive architectural sites. Keep returning as more locations are added frequently. If you enjoy the guide and want to continue supporting the addition of new sites and publications, please consider making a donation using the donate button above.

Tag: Civic

  • Farmington Public Library

    Farmington Public Library

    With a front door facing east, as do most Diné (formerly called “Navajo”) dwellings, and a central rotunda recalling a Pueblo kiva form, the Farmington Public Library’s architecture honors the architectural precedents of its neighboring Native American tribes.

  • Santa Fe U.S. Courthouse

    Santa Fe U.S. Courthouse

    Restored in 2002, The impressive 1889 U.S. Courthouse stands two blocks north of the Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe’s historic municipal core.

  • Santa Fe’s Don Gaspar Bridge (1934)

    Santa Fe’s Don Gaspar Bridge (1934)

    Santa Fe’s expansion south of the Santa Fe River was made possible by the construction of the Don Gaspar Bridge during the New Deal era in 1934.

  • Chaco Culture National Historic Park

    Chaco Culture National Historic Park

    Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Northwest New Mexico. The earliest Great Houses were begun in the mid-800s AD, and all were abandoned by 1250 AD. Chaco is the most extensive pre-European architectural site north of Mexico.

  • Spaceport America “Gateway to Space” Hangar Facility

    Spaceport America “Gateway to Space” Hangar Facility

    Spaceport America, located 30 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences in the Jornada del Muerto desert, is the first commercial spaceport built in the world.

  • Mesa Public Library 

    Mesa Public Library 

    The architecture of Mesa Public Library is composed of two major elements: a long, wedge-shaped volume pointing north, and a segment of a circle that emphasizes the panorama of the Jemez Mountains.  

  • White Rock Visitor Center

    White Rock Visitor Center

    The White Rock Visitor Center provides a gateway to near by national monuments and preserves.  The building uses materials that recall natural bluffs and mountain cabins. 

  • Erna Fergusson Library

    Erna Fergusson Library

    Erna Fergusson Library is composed of three types of volumes:  a low rectangular box; high, half-arched volumes; and a tower. Each of these shapes has a different form and function.

  • Old Albuquerque Municipal Airport Building

    Old Albuquerque Municipal Airport Building

    The Old Albuquerque Municipal Airport building was an important stop in the early transcontinental flights between Chicago and Los Angeles. It was the only major airport in the nation built in the Spanish Pueblo Revival style.

  • ¡Explora! Science Center & Children’s Museum

    ¡Explora! Science Center & Children’s Museum

    The architecture of ¡Explora! is colorful and playful.  It beckons children of all ages to come in and have fun learning.

  • Vietnam Veterans Memorial

    Vietnam Veterans Memorial

    On a hill at the edge of the Moreno Valley in northern New Mexico, two curved, white planes soar toward the sky. Where the surfaces almost meet is the Peace and Brotherhood Chapel, the major feature of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

  • Nob Hill District 

    Nob Hill District 

    The Nob Hill District was Albuquerque’s first suburban shopping area based on the automobile.  Central Avenue, a part of historic Route 66, is the backbone of this district. Catering to the 1930s residential area that developed east of UNM, the Nob Hill commercial area fostered a wide range of architectural styles.

  • Central & Unser – Patrick J. Baca Library

    Central & Unser – Patrick J. Baca Library

    This handsome public building provides an important cultural focus for the developing West Side of Albuquerque.

  • City of Rocks State Park Visitor Center

    City of Rocks State Park Visitor Center

    The City of Rocks State Park’s Visitor Center enhances the natural resource without competing with it. The dramatic rock façade is camouflaged to match the landscape.

  • U.S. Historic Courthouse

    U.S. Historic Courthouse

    This 1930 courthouse was the first one built in Albuquerque that acknowledged a southwest architectural heritage by using earth-toned exterior materials and artistic details taken from Native American motifs.

  • Albuquerque Museum

    Albuquerque Museum

    The Albuquerque Museum has served as a major attraction for the city since it outgrew its first home, at the Sunport, becoming more dynamic over the years . . .

  • Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center

    Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center

    Designed to accommodate a wide variety of uses—from fitness to art classes and more—for citizens of all ages, Manzano Mesa was the first such facility . . .

  • Pete V. Domenici U.S. Courthouse and McClellan Park

    Pete V. Domenici U.S. Courthouse and McClellan Park

    The Pete V. Domenici U.S. Courthouse, a major public building in Albuquerque, employs time-honored Southwestern architectural traditions . . .

  • Open Space Visitor Center (City of Albuquerque)

    Open Space Visitor Center (City of Albuquerque)

    Albuquerque’s Open Space Visitor Center introduces visitors to the Rio Grande Bosque, nature-related art, a native-plant demonstration garden, agricultural fields, the Piedras Marcadas Pueblo archaeological site, and stunning views….

  • Main Library (Albuquerque Public Library)

    Main Library (Albuquerque Public Library)

    George Pearl, FAIA, the designer of Albuquerque Public Library’s current Main Library, was a leader in the effort to find a modern architecture that spoke of the special qualities of the Southwest, what we now call “Regional Modernism.”…

  • National Hispanic Cultural Center (District)

    National Hispanic Cultural Center (District)

    The National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and advancement of Hispanic culture, arts, and humanities. The campus is composed of five buildings and a number of landscape features. The new buildings and landscapes are contemporary interpretations of a variety of styles related to the U.S. Southwest, Latin America, and the…