Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico, may be the oldest town or city on Route 66. It was settled by Native Americans in the 900s and became a Spanish colony in the early 1600s. Today the historic area’s adobe buildings are filled with trendy shops and restaurants. It’s a very different experience from the rest of Route 66!

The historic district of Santa Fe is centered around the Plaza, bordered by Palace Avenue, San Francisco Street, Lincoln Avenue, and Washington Avenue. 

The Plaza in Santa Fe, looking south

Along the north side of the Plaza is the Palace of the Governors.

Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe

We walked around the Plaza early in the morning but, later in during the day, there are vendors selling locally-made jewelry under the Palace’s overhang.

Across from the southeast corner of the Plaza is La Fonda on the Plaza at 100 East San Francisco Street.

La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe

As you can see, it takes up a full city block! La Fonda was built in 1922 and became one of the famed Harvey House hotels. The interior was decorated by Mary Jane Colter, who also designed and decorated La Posada in Winslow, Arizona, and many of the historic buildings along the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. (I write more about the Harvey Houses and Mary Jane Colter in my post on Winslow, Arizona.)

We splurged on a lovely night at La Fonda. In the morning we had breakfast in the hotel’s beautiful La Plazuela restaurant in the lobby. The restaurant’s food and service were terrific, and it was a perfect way to start the day.

La Plazuela Restaurant in La Fonda

We wandered around the historic district and visited two historic churches in Santa Fe. Loretto Chapel is just a block south of La Fonda. It was built in the 1870s, and it’s known for its beautiful, unsupported (“floating”) spiral staircase to the choir loft.

Floating staircase in Loretto Chapel

The entire Loretto Chapel is beautiful.

Loretto Chapel interior

Note that a small fee is charged to enter Loretto Chapel.

Two blocks south of Loretto Chapel is San Miguel Chapel at 401 Old Santa Fe Trail.

San Miguel Chapel

It is considered by some to be the oldest church in the continental United States (excluding Puerto Rico). But I think that may be debatable. A church was built here around 1610. If it still existed, it would be the oldest church building in the continental United States (excluding Puerto Rico). But it was at least partly dismantled in 1640 and heavily damaged in the Pueblo Revolt in the late 1600s. This church was built in 1710. That’s definitely old, but there are several church buildings in the United States even older. For example, Trinity Church in Church Creek, Maryland, was built in 1675. Some sources say the 1710 church was built on the foundations of the 1610 church; others say the adobe walls of the 1610 church also survived .

So I'm not clear how much of the 1610 church has survived and, therefore, whether San Miguel should be considered the oldest church in the continental United States (excluding Puerto Rico). San Miguel appears on some lists of oldest United States churches but not others.

No matter its age, San Miguel is a beautiful little chapel.

Interior of San Miguel Chapel

Between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, the 1926-1936 alignment of Route 66 is mostly dirt fragments that are either on private property or impassable unless you’re feeling really adventurous. To at least get a sense of what the drive might have been like, we left Santa Fe on Cerrillos Road (NM 14). Most of the road is bordered with modern buildings, but we saw a few vintage motels along the way.

About 2 miles after crossing I-25, we turned right (west) on NM 599, then immediately turned left (south) on the East I-25 Frontage Road. In about 6 miles, the Frontage Road ends at NM 57, so we got on I-25 south.

There’s one Route 66 sight between Santa Fe and Albuquerque that we were hoping to see: the Santo Domingo Trading Post.

Santo Domingo Trading Post (from nps.gov)

Santo Domingo Trading Post was built in 1922 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was almost destroyed by fire in 2001 but has now been rebuilt.

We took the Santo Domingo exit of I-25, turning left (north) on NM 22. In about 3 miles, we hoped to turn left (east) on Indian Service Route 88. But here we were met by a security guard who told us that the trading post (and the Kewa Pueblo or Santo Domingo Pueblo to the west) were closed by the Federal government to visitors because of COVID, and he couldn’t let us through. So we returned to I-25 and continued south toward Albuquerque.

In about 11 miles, we exited I-25 at NM 315, then turned left (southwest) on NM 313. NM 313 is also known as Camino Real (the King’s Highway), Pan American Central Highway…and the 1926 “alignment” of Route 66. On the northern edge of Albuquerque, NM 313—and Route 66—briefly become NM 556 and then become 4^th Street Northwest the rest of the way into downtown Albuquerque.