Bass Reeves (July 1838 – 12 January 1910), one of the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi River, arrested over 3,000 felons and shot and killed fourteen outlaws in self-defense. Biography Reeves was born into slavery in 1838 in Crawford County, Arkansas. Reeves was named after his grandfather, Basse Washington. Bass Reeves and his family were slaves of Arkansas state legislator William Steele Reeves. When Bass Reeves was eight (about 1846), William Reeves moved to Grayson County, Texas, near Sherman in the Peters Colony. Bass Reeves may have served Colonel George R. Reeves, the son of William Reeves, the owner of Bass Reeves when he was a slave. George Reeves was also a legislator, in Texas, and at the time of his death in 1882 from rabies, George Reeves was the Speaker of the House in the Texas legislature. During the American Civil War, Bass parted company with George Reeves. "Some say because Bass beat up George after a dispute in a card game. " Bass Reeves fled north into the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) and lived with the Cherokee, Seminole, and Creek Indians until he was freed by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. Later Reeves moved to Arkansas and farmed near Van Buren. He married Nellie Jennie from Texas, with whom he had ten children, five boys and five girls. Career

Reeves worked for thirty-two years as a Federal peace officer in the Indian Territory. He was one of Judge Parker's most valued deputies. Reeves brought in some of the most dangerous criminals of the time, but was never wounded, despite having his hat and belt shot off on separate occasions. Once he had to arrest his own son for murder. In addition to being a marksman with a rifle and pistol, Reeves, during his long career, developed superior detective skills. When he retired in 1907, Reeves claimed to have arrested over 3,000 felons. He is said to to have shot and killed fourteen outlaws to defend his own life. One of his sons was charged with the murder of his wife. Marshal Reeves was disturbed and shaken by the incident but demanded to accept the responsibility of bringing his son to justice. His son was eventually tracked and captured, tried and convicted. He served his time in Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas before being released and living the rest of his life as a responsible and model citizen. When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Reeves, then 68, became an officer of the Muskogee, Oklahoma police department. He served for two years before he became ill and had to retire. He was himself once charged with murdering a posse cook. At his trial before Judge Parker, Reeves was represented by former United States Attorney W. H. H. Clayton, who had been his colleague and friend. Reeves was acquitted. Death Reeves' health began to fail, and he died of Bright's disease (nephritis) in 1910. He was an uncle of Paul L. Brady, the first African-American appointed a Federal Administrative Law Judge (in 1972). Legacy In 2007, the U.S. Route 62 bridge crossing the Arkansas River between Muskogee and Fort Gibson,

In popular culture

It has been suggested that Reeves was the inspiration for the fictional character The Lone Ranger. He has figured in numerous forms of popular culture.

Film

Bass Reeves, a fictionalized film of his life and career, was released by Ponderous Productions of San Antonio in 2010.

Morgan Freeman has expressed interest in playing Reeves in a motion picture about his life.

Print

Reeves' story has been presented to kids. Vaunda Micheaux Nelson's book, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for best author.

Illustrator and historian Joel Christian Gill published a comic novel in 2014 called "Tales of the Talented Tenth, Volume 1", which featured the story of Bass Reeves.

Authors Ken Farmer and Buck Stienke have penned four novels based on and inspired by the exploits of Bass Reeves, The Nations, Haunted Falls (winner of the Laramie Award for best action western, 2013), Hell Hole, and Across the Red.

Author Elizabeth Bear depicted Bass Reeves in her 2015 wild-west/Steampunk novel Karen Memory.

Television

Reeves figures prominently in an episode of How It's Made, in which a Bass Reeves limited edition collectors' figurine is shown in various stages of the production process.

Bass Reeves is mentioned in passing in episode 2 of season 3 of Justified, along with other US Marshals of distinction Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp.
 

Taos /?ta?s/ is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,716. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, El Prado, and Arroyo Seco. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American village and tribe from which it takes its name.

Taos is the county seat of Taos County. The English name Taos derives from the native Taos language meaning "place of red willows".

Taos is the principal city of the Taos, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Taos County.

History
Taos Pueblo

The Taos Pueblo, which borders the town of Taos on its north side, has been occupied for nearly a millennium. It is estimated that the pueblo was built between 1000 and 1450 A.D., with some later expansion, and the pueblo is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in America.

Located in a tributary valley off the Rio Grande, it is the most northern of the New Mexico pueblos. The Pueblo, at some places five stories high, is a combination of many individual homes with common walls. There are over 1,900 people in the Taos pueblo community. Some of them have modern homes near their fields and stay at their homes on the pueblo during cooler weather. There are about 150 people who live at the pueblo year-around. The Taos Pueblo was added as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 as one of the most significant historical cultural landmarks in the world; other sites include the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramids and the Grand Canyon in the United States.

Spanish colonization

Taos was established c. 1615 as Don Fernando de Taos, following the Spanish conquest of the Indian Pueblo villages by Geneva Vigil. Initially, relations of the Spanish settlers with Taos Pueblo were amicable, but resentment of meddling by missionaries, and demands by encomenderos for tribute, led to a revolt in 1640; Taos Indians killed their priest and a number of Spanish settlers, and fled the pueblo, not returning until 1661.

In 1680, Taos Pueblo joined the widespread Pueblo Revolt. After the Spanish Reconquest of 1692, Taos Pueblo continued armed resistance to the Spanish until 1696, when Governor Diego de Vargas defeated the Indians at Taos Canyon.

During the 1770s, Taos was repeatedly raided by Comanches who lived on the plains of what is now eastern Colorado. Juan Bautista de Anza, governor of the Province of New Mexico, led a successful punitive expedition in 1779 against the Comanches.

Taos settlement

Between 1780 and 1800, Don Fernando de Taos (now Taos), was established. Between 1796 and 1797 the Don Fernando de Taos Land Grant gave land to 63 Spanish families in the Taos valley. It was built as a fortified plaza with adobe buildings and is now a central plaza surrounded by residential areas. Mountain men who trapped for beaver nearby made Taos their home in the early 1800s.

U.S. territory and statehood

Mexico ceded the region to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. After the U.S. takeover of New Mexico in 1847, Hispanics and American Indians in Taos staged a rebellion, known as the Taos Revolt, in which the newly appointed U.S. Governor, Charles Bent, was killed. New Mexico was a territory of the United States beginning 1850 and became a state in 1912.

For historical reasons, the American flag is displayed continuously at Taos Plaza (both day and night). This derives from the time of the American Civil War, when Confederate sympathizers in the area attempted to remove the flag. The Union officer Kit Carson sought to discourage this activity by having guards surround the area and fly the flag 24 hours a day.

"The Padre of Isleta", Anton Docher first served as a priest in Taos before leaving for Isleta in 1891.

Taos art colony 

Beginning in 1899, artists began to settle in Taos; six formed the Taos Society of Artists in 1915. In time, the Taos art colony developed. Many paintings were made of local scenes, especially of Taos Pueblo and activities there, as the artists often modelled Native Americans from the pueblo in their paintings. Some of the artists' studios have been preserved and may be viewed by visitors to Taos. These include the Ernest L. Blumenschein House, the Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios, and the Nicolai Fechin house, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Influential later 20th-century Taos artists include R. C. Gorman and Agnes Martin.

Historical places and tourism

Taos is home to more than twenty sites on the National Register of Historic Places.

Pueblos
    Three miles north of Taos is Taos Pueblo; Picuris Pueblo is about 25 miles south.

Taos art colony
    Many of the historic sites are homes and studios of artists, including the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios, the Nicolai Fechin House, the Leon Gaspard House, and the Ernest Martin Hennings House. On Ledoux street, just south of the Taos Plaza, is the Ernest L. Blumenschein House and Harwood House.

Other historic sites
    The center of the Taos Downtown Historic District is the Taos Plaza. Just west of that is the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. North of the Taos Plaza is the Governor Charles Bent House and the Taos Inn. Further north in Taos The Bernard Beimer House. On the southwestern edge of the Taos Historic district is La Loma Plaza Historic District. East of the plaza on Kit Carson Road is the Kit Carson House.

   North of Taos is the Turley Mill and Distillery Site and the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Just outside of Taos in Ranchitos is the Martinez Hacienda, the home turned museum of the late Padre Antonio José Martínez. South of Taos is the Ranchos de Taos Plaza with the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church. 

Other historic places
Twenty miles northwest is the D. H. Lawrence Ranch (originally known as the Kiowa Ranch and now owned by the University of New Mexico), the home of the English novelist in the 1920s. It is believed that his ashes are buried there at the D. H. Lawrence Memorial. Another novelist who lived for a while in Taos was Alexander Trocchi.
Tourism

Art
    There are many ways to explore art in Taos. There are three Art Museums in Taos: Harwood Museum of Art, Taos Art Museum and Millicent Rogers Museum that provide art from the pueblo Native Americans, Taos Society of Artists and modern and contemporary artists of the Taos art colony. The town has more than eighty art galleries and there are several houses of the Taos Society of Artists.

Performing arts
    There are several local venues for the performing arts in Taos. The Taos Center for the Arts (TCA) draws nationally renowned and local performers at the Taos Community Auditorium. They also present independent film series. Three chamber music groups perform at TCA: Taos School of Music, Taos Chamber Music Group, and Music from Angel Fire. The Harwood Museum of Art is site of other performances and lectures. The Town of Taos Convention Center offers a venue for other local performances.

Recreation

Summer activities
    The Taos valley, Rio Grande and Taos mountains provide many opportunities for recreation, such as fly fishing, horseback riding, golfing, hot air ballooning, llama trekking, rafting, mountain biking and more. Nearby, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad provides a ride through the Toltec Gorge and Rocky Mountain passes in an authentic narrow-gauge steam railroad.

Winter activities
    In the winter many people come to Taos to ski. Wheeler Peak, at 13,161 feet, is the highest peak in New Mexico. The Taos area has four ski areas – Taos Ski Valley, Red River ski area, Sipapu (ski area) and Angel Fire ski area. Other winter activities include hot air ballooning, horseback riding, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, ice skating, ice fishing and snowmobiling.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census Taos had a population of 5,716. The median age was 44. The ethnic and racial composition of the population was 40.1% non-Hispanic white, 0.7% African American, 1.0% Asian, 5.3% Native American, 0.3% non-Hispanics reporting some other race, 5.4% reporting two or more races and 51.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census[18] of 2000, there were 4,700 people, 2,067 households, and 1,157 families residing in the town. The population density was 874.5 inhabitants per square mile (337.6/km2). There were 2,466 housing units at an average density of 458.8 per square mile (177.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 68.04% White, 0.53% African American, 4.11% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 21.66% from other races, and 4.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 54.34% of the population.

There were 2,067 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.7% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,016, and the median income for a family was $33,564. Males had a median income of $27,683 versus $23,326 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,983. About 17.9% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 24.4% of those age 65 or over.

Geography and climate

Taos is located at 36°23?38?N 105°34?36?W (36.393979, ?105.576705).

The town has a total area of 5.4 square miles (14 km2), all land.

Taos is located near the Rio Pueblo de Taos, a tributary of the Rio Grande. Just to the west of Taos is the Rio Grande Gorge, cutting through the basalt flows of the Taos Plateau volcanic field and crossed by the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, now a part of U.S. Route 64.

The elevation of the town is 6,967 feet (2,124 m). Just north of Taos is Wheeler Peak, at 13,161 feet (4,011 m), the highest point in New Mexico. Taos has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with extreme diurnal variations of temperature and low rainfall. Even when summer days get extremely hot, nights can be pleasantly cool.

Education

Elementary, middle and high schools
    The town's public schools operated by Taos Municipal Schools include Arroyos del Norte Elementary School, Enos García Elementary (also Taos Elementary School), Ranchos Elementary School, Taos Middle School, Taos High School and Taos Cyber Magnet School.

    Charter schools include Anansi Charter School, Taos Academy (State Charter), Taos Municipal Charter School and Vista Grande High School. Also in the area are additional alternative and private schools: Chrysalis Alternative School, Sped Discipline, Yaxche Private School, Taos Christian Academy, and San Francisco De Asis School.

Universities
    Dallas-based Southern Methodist University operates a 295 acres (1.19 km2) campus at Fort Burgwin in Taos.

    Albuquerque-based University of New Mexico (UNM) operates a community campus in Taos, with eight affiliated buildings in Taos, such as the UNM Harwood Museum of Art and Taos High School where some classes are held.

Government
 The town of Taos is incorporated under the mayor-council form of government. The town was incorporated on May 7, 1934. The town seal is a logo of the town of Taos with the year of incorporation "1934" in the center, and on the outer edge, the words "Town of Taos, New Mexico".

The elective officers of the town include: the mayor, 4 members of the governing body forming the town council, and a municipal judge. The town council is the board of finance of the town. The town manager and finance director serve as the nonvoting members to the board of finance. Key positiongs within the town government are town manager, appointed by the major, Town Attorney, Town Clerk, Town Engineer and Chief of Police.

Taos is predominantly made up of Democrats; In 2008, approximately 74% of registered Taos County voters were Democrats, 13% Republicans and about 13% were alternate parties or decline to affiliate with a party.
Transportation
Public transportation

Chile Line, Taos public transportation
    The Chile Line, operated by the town of Taos, is Taos' only public transportation system. The transit system provides paratransit service for citizens with special needs and ensures that all route buses are American Disability Act (ADA) equipped.

Taos Express
    The Taos Express is a shuttle service created by the Town of Taos to promote local tourism. It provides transportation on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from the Taos Plaza to the New Mexico Rail Runner, Santa Fe Municipal Airport, and Santa Fe transit.

Regional public transportation
    The North Central Regional Transit District (NCRTD) has public transportation service between regional areas. The Taos region has service to Cerro, Penasco, Questa, Red River, the Rio Grande corridor and the University of New Mexico – Taos Klaur campus. At the OhKay Owingeh Casino passengers can connect to other regional routes, such as Espanola, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Northern Pueblos area. In 2003 the Regional Transit District Act was enacted, which authorized the creation of Regional Transit Districts (RTD's) in the state of New Mexico; In September, 2004, the North Central Regional RTD was the first RTD to be certified by the New Mexico Transportation Commission.

Airports
Taos Regional Airport (SKX) is under the direct supervision of the Town of Taos. The airport is located just a few miles north of the Town of Taos on U.S. Route 64 towards the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.

Other airports in New Mexico include the Santa Fe Municipal Airport and Albuquerque International Sunport.
 

Santa Fe (/?sænt??fe?/; (Tewa: Ogha Po'oge, Navajo: Yootó)) is the capital of the state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of Santa Fe County. Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States and the oldest city in New Mexico. Santa Fe (meaning "holy faith" in Spanish) had a population of 69,204 in 2012. It is the principal city of a Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Santa Fe County and is part of the larger Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas Combined Statistical Area. The city’s full name when founded was La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís ("The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi"). History  Spain and Mexico     Santa Fe settlers are “churlish types” who are “accustomed to live apart from each other, as neither fathers nor sons associate with each other."     —Governor Fermín de Mendinueta, c. 1776. The city of Santa Fe was originally occupied by a number of Pueblo Indian villages with founding dates between 1050 to 1150. One of the earliest known settlements in what today is downtown Santa Fe came sometime after 900. A Native American group built a cluster of homes that centered around the site of today’s Plaza and spread for half a mile to the south and west; the village was called Ogapoge. The Santa Fe River provided water to people living there. The Santa Fe River is a seasonal waterway which was a year round stream until the 1700s. As of 2007, the river was recognized as the most endangered river in the United States, according to the conservation group American Rivers.

Downtown Santa Fe

Except for the years 1680–1692, when, as a result of the Pueblo Revolt, the native Pueblo people drove the Spaniards out of the area known as New Mexico, later to be reconquered by Don Diego de Vargas, Santa Fe remained Spain's provincial seat until the outbreak of the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. In 1824 the city's status as the capital of the Mexican territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México was formalized in the 1824 Constitution.

United States

The Republic of Texas map showing lands  claimed by Texas after 1836 and present-day  outlines of states superimposed on the  boundaries of 1836–1845.

The Republic of Texas had claimed Santa Fe as part of the western portion of Texas along the Rio Grande when it seceded from Mexico in 1836. In 1841, a small military and trading expedition set out from Austin, Texas, with the aim of gaining control over the Santa Fe Trail. Known as the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, the force was poorly prepared and was easily captured by the Mexican army. In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico, and Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny led the main body of his Army of the West of some 1,700 soldiers into the city to claim it and the whole New Mexico Territory for the United States. By 1848 the U.S. officially gained New Mexico through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Colonel Alexander William Doniphan, under the command of Kearny, recovered ammunition from Santa Fe labeled "Spain 1776", showing both the quality of communication and military support New Mexico received under Mexican rule. American visitors saw little promise in the remote town. One traveller in 1849 wrote:     "I can hardly imagine how Santa Fe is supported. The country around it is barren. At the North stands a snow-capped mountain while the valley in which the town is situated is drab and sandy. The streets are narrow... A Mexican will walk about town all day to sell a bundle of grass worth about a dime. They are the poorest looking people I ever saw. They subsist principally on mutton, onions and red pepper."     —letter from an American traveler, 1849.  In 1851, Jean Baptiste Lamy arrived; in 1853 he became bishop of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado and traveled to France, Rome, Tucson, Los Angeles, St. Louis, New Orleans and Mexico City. He built Saint Francis Cathedral and shaped Catholicism in the region until his death in 1888.

On October 21, 1887, "The Padre of Isleta", Anton Docher went to New Mexico where he was ordained as a priest in the St Francis Cathedral of Santa Fe by Bishop Jean-Baptiste Salpointe. After a few years spent in Santa Fe, Bernalillo and in Taos, he arrived in Isleta on December 28, 1891. He wrote an interesting ethnological article published in The Santa Fé Magazine on June,1913, in which he describes the early 20th century's life in the Pueblos.

Santa Fe was originally envisioned as an important stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. But as the tracks progressed into New Mexico, the civil engineers decided that it was more practical to go through Lamy, a town in Santa Fe County to the south of Santa Fe. A branch line was completed from Lamy to Santa Fe in 1880 and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad extended the narrow gauge Chili Line from the nearby city of Española to Santa Fe in 1886, but the result of bypassing Santa Fe was a gradual economic decline. This was reversed in part through the creation of a number of resources for the arts and archaeology, notably the School of American Research, created in 1907 under the leadership of the prominent archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett. The first airplane to fly over Santa Fe was piloted by Rose Dugan, carrying Vera von Blumenthal as passenger. Together they started the development of the Pueblo Indian pottery industry, a major contribution to the founding of the annual Santa Fe Indian Market.

In 1912, New Mexico became the United States of America's 47th state, with Santa Fe as its capital.

20th century

1912 Plan

In 1912, when the town had only 5,000 people, the city's civic leaders designed and enacted a sophisticated city plan that incorporated elements of the City Beautiful movement, the city planning movement, and the German historic preservation movement. It anticipated limited future growth, considered the scarcity of water, and recognized the future prospects of suburban development on the outskirts. The planners foresaw conflicts between preservationists and scientific planners. They set forth the principle that historic streets and structures be preserved and that new development must be harmonious with the city's character.

Artists and tourists

The mainline of the railroad bypassed Santa Fe, and it lost population. However artists and writers, as well as retirees, were attracted to the cultural richness of the area, the beauty of the landscapes and its dry climate. Local leaders began promoting the city as a tourist attraction. The city sponsored architectural restoration projects and erected new buildings according to traditional techniques and styles, thus creating the "Santa Fe style". Edgar L. Hewett, founder and first director of the School of American Research and the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, was a leading promoter. He began the Santa Fe Fiesta in 1919 and the Southwest Indian Fair in 1922 (now known as the Indian Market). When he tried to attract a summer program for Texas women, many artists rebelled saying the city should not promote artificial tourism at the expense of its artistic culture. The writers and artists formed the Old Santa Fe Association and defeated the plan.

Japanese American internment camp

During World War II, Santa Fe was the location of a Japanese American internment camp. Beginning in June 1942, the Department of Justice held 826 Japanese American men arrested after Pearl Harbor in a former Civilian Conservation Corps site that had been acquired and expanded for the purpose. Although there was a lack of evidence and no due process, the men were held on suspicion of fifth column activity. Security at Santa Fe was similar to a military prison, with twelve-foot barbed wire fences, guard towers equipped with searchlights, and guards carrying rifles, side arms and tear gas. By September, the internees had been transferred to other facilities—523 to War Relocation Authority concentration camps, 302 to Army internment camps—and the site was used to hold German and Italian nationals. In February 1943, these civilian detainees were transferred to D.O.J. custody and the camp was expanded to take in 2,100 men segregated from the general population of Japanese American inmates, mostly Nisei and Kibei who had renounced their U.S. citizenship and other "troublemakers" from the Tule Lake Segregation Center. In 1945, four internees were seriously injured when violence broke out between the internees and guards in an event known as the Santa Fe Riot. The camp remained open past the end of the war; the last detainees were released in mid 1946, and the facility was closed and sold as surplus soon after. The camp was located in what is now the Casa Solana neighborhood.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.4 sq mi (96.9 km2), of which 37.3 sq mi (96.7 km2) is land and 0.077 sq mi (0.2 km2) (0.21%) is water.

Santa Fe is located at 7,199 feet (2134 m) above sea level, making it the highest state capital in the United States.

Climate

Santa Fe experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with chilly winters, and very warm summers. The 24-hour average temperature in the city ranges from 30.3 °F (?0.9 °C) in December to 70.1 °F (21.2 °C) in July. Due to the relative aridity and elevation, average diurnal temperature variation exceeds 25 °F (14 °C) in every month, and 30 °F (17 °C) much of the year. The city usually receives 6 to 8 snowfalls a year between November and April. Heaviest rainfall occurs in July and August, with the arrival of the North American Monsoon.

Santa Fe style and "The City Different"

   "This year we are making a studied conscious effort not to be studied or conscious. Santa Fe is now one of the most interesting art centers in the world and you, O Dude of the East, are privileged to behold the most sophisticated group in the country gamboling freely. ... And Santa Fe, making you welcome, will enjoy itself hugely watching the Dude as he gazes. Be sure as you stroll along looking for the quaint and picturesque that you are supplying your share of those very qualities to Santa Fe, the City Incongruous. ... Be yourself, even if it includes synthetic cowboy clothes, motor goggles and a camera." —1928 Santa Fe Fiesta Program

The Spanish laid out the city according to the "Laws of the Indies", town planning rules and ordinances which had been established in 1573 by King Philip II. The fundamental principle was that the town be laid out around a central plaza. On its north side was the Palace of the Governors, while on the east was the church that later became the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

An important style implemented in planning the city was the radiating grid of streets centering from the central Plaza. Many were narrow and included small alley-ways, but each gradually merged into the more casual byways of the agricultural perimeter areas. As the city grew throughout the 19th century, the building styles evolved too, so that by statehood in 1912, the eclectic nature of the buildings caused it to look like "Anywhere USA". The city government realized that the economic decline, which had started more than twenty years before with the railway moving west and the federal government closing down Fort Marcy, might be reversed by the promotion of tourism.

To achieve that goal, the city created the idea of imposing a unified building style – the Spanish Pueblo Revival look, which was based on work done restoring the Palace of the Governors. The sources for this style came from the many defining features of local architecture: vigas (rough, exposed beams that extrude through supporting walls, and are thus visible outside as well as inside the building) and canales (rain spouts cut into short parapet walls around flat roofs), features borrowed from many old adobe homes and churches built many years before and found in the Pueblos, along with the earth-toned look (reproduced in stucco) of the old adobe exteriors.

After 1912 this style became official: all buildings were to be built using these elements. By 1930 there was a broadening to include the "Territorial", a style of the pre-statehood period which included the addition of portales (large, covered porches) and white-painted window and door pediments (and also sometimes terra cotta tiles on sloped roofs, but with flat roofs still dominating). The city had become "different". However, "in the rush to pueblofy" Santa Fe, the city lost a great deal of its architectural history and eclecticism. Among the architects most closely associated with this “new” style are T. Charles Gaastra and John Gaw Meem.

By an ordinance passed in 1957, new and rebuilt buildings, especially those in designated historic districts, must exhibit a Spanish Territorial or Pueblo style of architecture, with flat roofs and other features suggestive of the area's traditional adobe construction. However, many contemporary houses in the city are built from lumber, concrete blocks, and other common building materials, but with stucco surfaces (sometimes referred to as "faux-dobe", pronounced as one word: "foe-dough-bee") reflecting the historic style.

In a September 2003 report by Angelou Economics, it was determined that Santa Fe should focus their economic development efforts in the following seven industries: Arts and Culture, Design, Hospitality, Conservation Technologies, Software Development, Publishing and New Media, and Outdoor Gear and Apparel. Three secondary targeted industries for Santa Fe to focus development in are health care, retiree services, and food & beverage. Angelou Economics recognized three economic signs that Santa Fe’s economy was at risk of long term deterioration. These signs were; a lack of business diversity which tied the city too closely to fluctuations in tourism and the government sector; the beginnings of urban sprawl, as a result of Santa Fe County growing faster than the city, meaning people will move farther outside the city to find land and lower costs for housing; and an aging population coupled with a rapidly shrinking population of individuals under 45 years old, making Santa Fe less attractive to business recruits.

The seven industries recommended by the report "represent a good mix for short-, mid-, and long-term economic cultivation."

In 2005/2006, a consultant group from Portland, Oregon, prepared a "Santa Fe Downtown Vision Plan" to examine the long-range needs for the "downtown" area, roughly bounded by the Paseo de Peralta on the north, south and east sides and by Guadalupe Street on the west. In consultation with members of community groups, who were encouraged to provide feedback, the consultants made a wide range of recommendations in the plan now published for public and city review.

Government

The city of Santa Fe is a charter city. It is governed by a mayor-council system. The city is divided into four electoral districts, each represented by two councilors. Councilors are elected to staggered four-year terms and one councilor from each district is elected every two years.:Article VI

The municipal judgeship is an elected position and a requirement of the holder is that they be a member of the state bar. The judge is elected to four-year terms.:Article VII

The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city and is a member of the governing body. The mayor has numerous powers and duties, but does not vote with the councilors except to break ties.:Article V Day-to-day operations of the municipality are undertaken by the city manager's office.:Article VIII
Federal representation

The Joseph M. Montoya Federal Building and Post Office serves as an office for U.S. federal government operations. It also contains the primary United States Postal Service post office in the city. Other post offices in the Santa Fe city limits include Coronado, De Vargas Mall, and Santa Fe Place Mall. The U.S. Courthouse building, constructed in 1889, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Arts and culture

The city is well known as a center for arts that reflect the multicultural character of the city; it has been designated as a UNESCO Creative City in Design, Crafts and Folk Art. Each Wednesday the alternative weekly newspaper, The Santa Fe Reporter, publishes information on the arts and culture of Santa Fe; and each Friday, the daily Santa Fe New Mexican publishes Pasatiempo, its long-running calendar and commentary on arts and events.

In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by CBS Money Watch and U.S. News.

Visual art and galleries

The city and the surrounding areas have a high concentration of artists. They have come over the decades to capture the natural beauty of the landscape, the flora and the fauna. One of the most well-known New Mexico–based artists was Georgia O'Keeffe, who lived for a time in Santa Fe, but primarily in Abiquiu, a small village about 50 mi (80 km) away. The New Mexico Museum of Art and Georgia O'Keeffe Museum own several of her works. O'Keeffe's friend, western nature photographer Eliot Porter, died in Santa Fe.

Canyon Road, east of the Plaza, has the highest concentration of art galleries in the city, and is a major destination for international collectors, tourists and locals. The Canyon Road galleries showcase a wide array of contemporary, Southwestern, indigenous American, and experimental art, in addition to Russian, Taos Masters, and Native American pieces.

Sculpture

There are many outdoor sculptures, including many statues of Francis of Assisi, and several other holy figures, such as Kateri Tekakwitha. The styles run the whole spectrum from Baroque to Post-modern. Notable sculptors connected with Santa Fe include John Connell, Luis Jiménez, Rebecca Tobey and Allan Houser.

Literature

Numerous authors followed the influx of specialists in the visual arts. Well-known writers like D.H. Lawrence, Cormac McCarthy, Kate Braverman, Douglas Adams, Roger Zelazny, Alice Corbin Henderson, Mary Austin, Witter Bynner, Dan Flores, Paul Horgan, Rudolfo Anaya, George R. R. Martin, Mitch Cullin, Evan S. Connell, Richard Bradford, John Masters, Jack Schaefer, Michael Tobias, Hampton Sides and Michael McGarrity are or were residents of Santa Fe. Walker Percy lived on a dude ranch outside of Santa Fe before returning to Louisiana to begin his literary career.

Music, dance, and opera

Performance Santa Fe, formerly the Santa Fe Concert Association, is the oldest presenting organization in Santa Fe. Founded in 1937, Performance Santa Fe brings celebrated and legendary musicians as well as some of the world’s greatest dancers and actors to the city from August through May. The Santa Fe Opera's productions take place between late June and late August each year. The city also hosts the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival which is held at about the same time, mostly in the St. Francis Auditorium and in the Lensic Theater. Also in July and August, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale holds its summer festival. Santa Fe has its own professional ballet company, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, which performs in both cities and tours nationally and internationally. Santa Fe is also home to internationally acclaimed Flamenco dancer's Maria Benitez Institute for Spanish Arts which offers programs and performance in Flamenco, Spanish Guitar and similar arts year round. Other notable local figures include the National Dance Institute of New Mexico and German New Age musician Deuter.

Museums

Santa Fe has many museums located near the downtown Plaza:

    New Mexico Museum of Art – collections of Southwestern Arts.
    Institute of American Indian Arts Museum – Native American arts with political aspects.
    Georgia O'Keeffe Museum – devoted to the work of O'Keeffe and others whom she influenced.
    New Mexico History Museum – located behind the Palace of the Governors.
    Pablita Velarde Museum of Indian Women in the Arts - a museum dedicated to Native Women artists.
    Site Santa Fe – A contemporary art space.
    Santa Fe Children's Museum - a children's museum

Several other museums are located in the area known as Museum Hill:

    Museum of International Folk Art – folk arts from around the world.
    Museum of Indian Arts and Culture – exhibits Native American arts.
    Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian – Native American art and history.
    Museum of Spanish Colonial Art – Tradition arts from the Spanish-colonial era to contemporary times.

Sports

The New Mexico Style were an American Basketball Association franchise founded in 2005, but reformed in Texas for the 2007–8 season as the El Paso S'ol (which folded without playing an ABA game in their new city). The Santa Fe Roadrunners were a North American Hockey League team, but moved to Kansas to become the Topeka Roadrunners. Santa Fe's rodeo, the Rodeo De Santa Fe, is held annually the last week of June. In May 2012 Santa Fe became the home of the Santa Fe Fuego of the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs. They play their home games at Fort Marcy Park. Horse Racing events were held at The Downs at Santa Fe from 1971 until 1997.

Economy
Science and technology

Santa Fe has had an association with science and technology since 1943 when the town served as the gateway to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a 45-minute drive from the city. In 1984, the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) was founded to research complex systems in the physical, biological, economic, and political sciences. It hosts such Nobel laureates as Murray Gell-Mann (physics), Philip Warren Anderson (physics), and Kenneth Arrow (economics). The National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) was founded in 1994 to focus on research at the intersection among bioscience, computing, and mathematics. In the 1990s and 2000s several technology companies formed to commercialize technologies from LANL, SFI, and NCGR. This community of companies has been dubbed the "Info Mesa."

Due to the presence of Los Alamos National Laboratory], Sandia National Laboratories and the Santa Fe Institute, and because of its attractiveness for visitors and an established tourist industry, Santa Fe routinely serves as a host to a variety of scientific meetings, summer schools, and public lectures, such as International q-bio Conference on Cellular Information Processing, Santa Fe Institute's Complex Systems Summer School, LANL's Center For Nonlinear Studies Annual Conference, and others.

Tourism

    Touch the country [of New Mexico] and you will never be the same again.
    —D.H. Lawrence, c. 1917.

After State government, tourism is a major element of the Santa Fe economy, with visitors attracted year-round by the climate and related outdoor activities (such as skiing in years of adequate snowfall; hiking in other seasons) plus cultural activities of the city and the region. Tourism information is provided by the convention and visitor bureau and the chamber of commerce.

Most tourist activity takes place in the historic downtown, especially on and around the Plaza, a one-block square adjacent to the Palace of the Governors, the original seat of New Mexico's territorial government since the time of Spanish colonization. Other areas include “Museum Hill”, the site of the major art museums of the city as well as the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, which takes place each year during the second full weekend of July. The Canyon Road arts area with its galleries is also a major attraction for locals and visitors alike.

Some visitors find Santa Fe particularly attractive around the second week of September when the aspens in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains turn yellow and the skies are clear and blue. This is also the time of the annual Fiestas de Santa Fe, celebrating the "reconquering" of Santa Fe by Don Diego de Vargas, a highlight of which is the burning Zozobra ("Old Man Gloom"), a 50-foot (15 m) marionette.

Popular day-trips in the Santa Fe area include locations such as the town of Taos – about 70 mi (113 km) north of Santa Fe. The historic Bandelier National Monument and the Valles Caldera can be found about 30 mi (48 km) away. In addition, Santa Fe's ski area, Ski Santa Fe, is about 16 mi (26 km) north of the city. 

Transportation
Air

Santa Fe is served by the Santa Fe Municipal Airport. Currently, American Eagle provides regional jet service to and from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which began on June 11, 2009. An additional flight to and from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was added on November 19, 2009 alongside a new flight to and from Los Angeles International Airport. Since December 2012, Great Lakes Airlines has offered twice daily flight service between Santa Fe, NM and Denver, CO. Many people fly into the Albuquerque International Sunport and connect by other means to Santa Fe.

Road

Santa Fe is located on I-25. In addition, U.S. Route 84 and U.S. Route 285 pass through the city along St. Francis Drive. NM-599 forms a limited-access road bypass around the northwestern part of the city.

In its earliest alignment (1926–1937) U.S. Route 66 ran through Santa Fe.

Public transportation

Santa Fe Trails operates a number of bus routes within the city and also provides connections to regional transit.

The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is a commuter rail service operating in Valencia, Bernalillo (including Albuquerque), Sandoval, and Santa Fe Counties. In Santa Fe County, the service uses 18 miles (29 km) of new right-of-way connecting the BNSF Railway's old transcontinental mainline to existing right-of-way in Santa Fe used by the Santa Fe Southern Railway. Santa Fe is currently served by three stations, Santa Fe Depot, South Capitol, and Santa Fe County/NM 599. A fourth station, Zia Road, is under construction and does not yet have a planned opening date.

New Mexico Park and Ride, a division of the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and the North Central Regional Transit District operate primarily weekday commuter coach/bus service to Santa Fe from Torrance, Rio Arriba, Taos, San Miguel and Los Alamos Counties in addition to shuttle services within Santa Fe connecting major government activity centers. Prior to the Rail Runner's extension to Santa Fe, New Mexico Park and Ride operated commuter coach service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Rail

Along with the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, a commuter rail line serving the metropolitan areas of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, the city or its environs are served by two other railroads. The Santa Fe Southern Railway, now mostly a tourist rail experience but also carrying freight, operates excursion services out of Santa Fe as far as Lamy, 15 miles (24 km) to the southeast. The Santa Fe Southern line is one of the United States' few rails with trails. Lamy is also served by Amtrak's daily Southwest Chief for train service to Chicago, Los Angeles, and intermediate points. Passengers transiting Lamy may use a special connecting coach/van service to reach Santa Fe.

Trails

Multi-use bicycle, pedestrian, and equestrian trails are increasingly popular in Santa Fe, for both recreation and commuting. These include the Dale Ball Trails, a 30-mile (48 km) network starting within two miles (3.2 km) of the Santa Fe Plaza; the long Santa Fe Rail Trail to Lamy; and the Santa Fe River Trail, which is in development. Santa Fe is the terminus of three National Historic Trails: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, the Old Spanish National Historic Trail, and the Santa Fe National Historic Trail.