Constructed 1900.

With the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railway in 1881 and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad six months later, the town of Deming was born. First a tent city and shantytown, it did not take long before permanent buildings were erected. The Downtown Deming Historic District encompasses a variety of historic resources spanning its 130 year history, including: Meyer’s Meat Market, a Queen Anne style commercial building built in 1886; the 1889 U.S. Customs House; the imposing 1916 Deming Armory; and, Morgan Hall, built in 1939 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project.

Historically referred to as the Windmill City or New Chicago, Deming retains a surprising number of commercial buildings that maintain a high degree of integrity from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The district also includes several structures, such as the buildings at 108-112 East Pine Street, which were updated and modernized with formstone bases and numerous large plate glass windows in the mid-twentieth century. In the case of Tidmore’s Department Store at 213 South Gold Avenue, which was largely reconstructed following a fire in 1946, that damaged or destroyed several businesses within the block.

Pine St., Silver Ave., Maple St., Copper St. Deming, NM 88030

photo by Elmo Baca.

Local New Mexico MainStreet Program:
Deming Luna County MainStreet
demingmainstreet.org