One Of The Oldest Buildings In Albuquerque, New Mexico, San Felipe de Neri Only Gets Better With Age
It’s a bit of an understatement to say that history can be found while walking the streets of Old Town Albuquerque. The plaza is filled with historic buildings but few have survived the years since the city’s earliest days.
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A centuries-old example of the Spanish colonial architecture that once dominated the region, it is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The building was constructed in 1793, though the parish and its original structure date to Albuquerque's founding in 1706.
The exterior features adobe walls characteristic of Spanish architecture in the southwest, along with a few ornate additions from the Victorian period.
Heavy wooden doors frame the entrance, leading visitors inside a church that looks not much different from its 1793 construction.
The church follows a simple cross-shaped floor plan, without side aisles or the grand ornamentation you may find in a Californian or Mexican church of the era.
The book “Secret Albuquerque” reveals this was carved and painted into an old cottonwood tree in 1958 by parishioner Toby Avila following his return from the Korean War. In 2011, a winter storm snapped the tree but the carving remained undamaged.
Have you had a chance to visit this historic church?
Monica is a Diné (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tódich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. You can reach her at [email protected]
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