The Las Vegas Railroad Depot replaced an earlier wooden depot constructed after the Santa Fe RR arrived in July, 1879, making Las Vegas the first railhead in the NM Territory. The existing depot is one of the earliest buildings built in the trademark California Mission Revival style in NM. The Read more…
The Old Town Plaza of Las Vegas was founded by settlers from nearby San Miguel, NM as the Santa Fe Trail gained importance as an international trade route from Missouri to Santa Fe. The Las Vegas plaza is where Gen. Steven W. Kearny and the US Army of the West Read more…
Constructed 1912 Though it opened in 1912 as the Mutual Theater, the Kiva Theater is the second-oldest movie theater still operating in New Mexico, being seven years younger than the Fountain Theater in Mesilla. There is a photo of the auditorium of the Kiva Theatre in the April 29, 1939, Read more…
The Gallinas River flows out of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains from the Pecos Wilderness Area located between Las Vegas and Santa Fe. The Gallinas runs south to join the Pecos River near Anton Chico. The Gallinas nourishes the rich meadow and pasture lands from which the community of Las Read more…
Constructed 1956 The Fort Union Drive-In has made the conversion to digital projection, but this was the story in 2013. New technology requires that the theater undergoes an upgrade to digital equipment and projection room. There are around 350 drive-ins left in the nation, and only two left in New Read more…
Constructed 1923 Originally called the Meadows Hotel, the El Fidel Hotel opened in 1923, billed as a modern inn to attract tourists traveling the country in their newfangled automobiles. It was the first hotel in Las Vegas, NM with bathrooms in each guest room. Today, the El Fidel is listed Read more…
Constructed 1909 Built in 1882, burned and rebuilt in 1909, the E. Romero Hose & Fire Building is the home of the first volunteer fire department in New Mexico. The original wood frame fire house was replaced by the brick building in 1909. The 1913 Sanborn map notes for the Read more…
Constructed 1900 An entire new city was platted between the Gallinas River and the Railroad in East Las Vegas after 1879. The two towns East Las Vegas and West Las Vegas would remain separate municipalities until consolidation in 1970. The commercial district of East Las Vegas was centered on the Read more…
Constructed 1870 The neighborhood immediately south of the Las Vegas Plaza was home to some of the first schools in the New Mexico Territory, and is named District of the Schools in Spanish. The Sisters of Loretto established an Academy here that educated generations of youngsters during the Territorial period. Read more…
Constructed 1940 The City of Las Vegas Museum and Rough Rider Memorial is housed in the historic Municipal Building. Las Vegas Municipal Building was designed by the Santa Fe architectural firm of Kruger & Clark and constructed during 1939-40 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. Among the museum’s exhibits Read more…