back next Santa Fe,Taos,New Mexico,Photos Gallery 31 features Santa Fe, Taos, Taos Pueblo New Mexico Historical sites. Taos Pueblo, Taos, New Mexico. Taos Pueblo, Taos, New Mexico. is about 70 miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of the few Native American groups that have never been conquered or displaced. The Taos Pueblo people have lived at the foot of Taos Mountain for more than a millennium. The pueblo complex that they built has changed little in the past 600 years. This was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, and was the first UNESCO living world heritage site. The site includes the original 1619 San Geronimo Church and Cemetery that was burned to ground by US troops in 1847 as part of retaliation against the Pueblo for the massacre of Governor Bent. Only the original bell tower remains today. The newer San Geronimo Church dates to 1850 and was Built by Spanish missionaries. Note that the Pueblo blend Catholic practices and ancient rituals. Red Willow Creek is the only source of drinking and bathing water. The water comes directly from the Blue Lake in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Taos Mountain. There is no running water and electricity within the villages. Most families cook in their fire places, or wood stoves and,or in the homo. Little has changed since 1540, except the doors and windows that were added later. The ladders around the buildings were used for entry through the roof. The roof entry served as security for the occupants and also a source of light. The front has drying racks for curing hides, preserving meat, and drying harvested crops such as corn, beans, squash and pumpkin. Old Town Taos; Kit Carson Home, Museum, and Kit Carson Memorial State Park. The famous pioneer Kit Carson and his family are buried in a cemetery in the State Park, as are art patron Mabel Dodge Luhan, and other Taos notables. A beautifully decorated band shell can be found in the park across from the cemetery. Nearby is Kit Carson's home which is a history museum that tells the life story of Carson. It includes rooms with the decor from Kit's time and artifacts from his adventures. Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the US, was founded in 1610 as New Mexico's capital and Spain's administrative center for the area. At 7,000 ft 12,133 m) in the valley between the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges, Santa Fe was the trade route link between the historic Camino Real route from Mexico and the Santa Fe Trail to Missouri in the 19th century. Taverns lined the streets of old Santa Fe, and the bustling Plaza was the scene of many gunfights. Today, the Plaza and the surrounding area have retained the historic character of the city. The monument in the Plaza honors those who lost their lives settling Santa Fe, both Native Americans, Settlers and Soldiers. Near by, the Palace of Governors-Now a Museum-Built 1610-1612, is one of oldest Government buildings in US. 1693 was scene of battle to retake Santa Fe from Indian Rebels, Governor Lew Wallace penned Ben Hur here in the late 180's. The Palace now includes the New Mexico History Museum. Also close to the Plaza is the New Mexico Museum of Art. This 1917 adobe building became the model for the Santa Fe architectural style. It displays works by the Taos Society of Artists and the Santa Fe Society of Artists South of the Plaza on the Old Santa Fe Trail Road are two of the oldest structures in the US. The oldest House in US built in 1646 AD is next door to Oldest Church in US, San Miguel Mission. All are in the old town area of Santa Fe. Check out Pink Adobe building across the street which has phenomenal meals with funky interiors. La Fonda Hotel and Gerald Cassidy Prints As Santa Fe’s oldest, best known hotel, La Fonda on the Plaza has set the standard for elegant accommodations since the early 1900s. Located in the historic heart of the city across from the 1887 St. Francis Cathedral Basilica, we have long been the destination for discriminating travelers, earning a reputation as the crossroads of the world. The legendary Santa Fe Trail ends at La Fonda, signaling to travelers that, wherever their journey began, they’ve finally arrived. Gerald Cassidy (1879–1934) painted ten dramatic canvases depicting life in the frontier West, plus an important map of the Southwest that still hangs in the Santa Fe Room A number of other historical churches are near the plaza. Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis; Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis was built in late 19th Century. French Priest Jean Baptiste Lamy raised funds from Abraham Staab, one of Santa Fe's Leading Jewish merchants. An Adonai sign (hebrew for God) above the door commemorates Jewish community contribution to funding the construction. Church of the Holy Faith: The Church of the Holy Faith was built in 1868. The congregation was formally established in 1868 representing the Anglo population after the city. Its architectural style is folk-Gothic, a simpler version of 13th century English Gothic cathedrals and churches. Above the main entry door is a downward curving crescent shape stained glass window containing the Star of David. This imagery was selected and placed to honor the Jewish community who donated to the building fund in 1879. Santa Fe has a history of “Crypto-Jews,” the Sephardic who practiced their faith in great secrecy due to having been previously persecuted in Europe or elsewhere. The Jewish community had been welcomed by the Episcopal parish and used the space for their own worship. This window makes this interfaith collaboration apparent Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Church; Built in 1781 west of the Santa Fe Plaza, the historic Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Church is now an art and history museum. The Santuario contains the Archdiocese of Santa Fe's collection of New Mexican santos (carved images of the saints), Italian Renaissance paintings, and Mexican baroque paintings. Among the treasured works is Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the largest and finest oil paints of the Spanish Southwest, dated 1783 and signed by Jose de Alzibar, one of Mexico's most renowned painters.A massive-walled adobe structure built by Franciscan missionaries between 1776 and 1795, this is the oldest shrine in the United States to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint. The church's adobe walls are nearly 3 feet thick, and among the sanctuary's religious art and artifacts is a beloved image of Nuestra Virgen de Guadalupe, painted by Mexican master Jose de Alzibar in 1783. Highlights are the traditional New Mexican carved and painted altar screen called a reredo, an authentic 19th-century sacristy, a pictorial-history archive, a library devoted to Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy that is furnished with many of his belongings, and a garden with plants from the Holy Land. Temple Beth Shalom; In the late 1940s eighteen families purchased the property on Barcelona Road where Temple Beth Shalom is still located. John Gaw Meem, designed the original synagogue named the Santa Fe Jewish Temple to accommodate the forty-family congregation. The current building was completed and dedicated in September 1986. The exterior has a Pueblo like architectural feel to it while the main sanctuary has wooden beams and a Southwest tile design above the bima. The congregation currently encompasses over 350 families. Temple Beth Shalom houses two historic Torah scrolls; one is a Holocaust scroll from Czechoslovakia and the Las Vegas Torah, a legacy of the congregation Montefiore in Las Vegas, NM. Current leader, Rabbi Marvin Schawb, is the founder of the Interfaith Leadership Alliance. He is retiring and will be replaced by Rabbi, Neil Amswych, who will join the congregation on July 22, 2014 Useful Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico websites: Taos Vacation Guid and Information Taos Pueblo Website Santa Fe Tourism Website Temple Beth Shalom Website