The American Architect The ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1924
NUMBER 2445 ANCIENT and MODERN ARCHITECTURE in
SANTA FE, N. M.
SANTA FE is proud of its ago. Before the
discovery of America it was the Indian capital of the Southwest. Later, the Spaniardg macfo it the capital of New Spain and from it rtsled tSeir wide dominion in North America. It beeam^H the seat of government of the new territory when the “Uni Led—States took possession and it was only to be expected that this, the second oldest city in the United States, would be chosen as the capital of New Mexico when that territory became a state. With such a historical background it is not surprising that Santa Fe clings to its traditions and that present day residences have copied the beautiful old Spanish architecture which m turn was inspired by the cliff dwellings of the Indians. But today concrete tile and Portland cement stucco are taking the place °f the adobe bricks and mud plastered walls of which the pueblos were built.
The typical Indian pueblo is a manycelled building of several stories, opening Een one or more courts
er plazas. In its arrangement its value as a defensive structure, besides being a place of habitation, was originally given weighty consideration. When the pueblo enclosed a single court, the outer wall was usually the highest, and was
AN ADOBE INDIAN PUEBLO AT TAOS, N. M
pierced with only small openings or portholes, to afford a view of the surrounding country. A slight elevation was usually preferred, but there are many instances where the site is a lofty mesa or a level plain, while still others were built in natural recesses in the rocky walls of canyons or
cliffs, hence their popular designation “cliff dwellings.”
Both rounded and polygonal structures were common, while some pueblos are semicircular in ground plan, with a high rear wall and with the houses arranged in terraces, the tiers of dwellings successively retreating so that the roof of the lower formed the means of access as well as the “front yard” of the tier next above, and so on to the sixth or seventh story.
The ground tier usually contained only small openings, access being gained by a movable ladder to the roof, which was provided with a hatchway.
Most of the pueblos still follow this ancient form, but there are now but few houses whose ground lioor is not provided with doors and windows.
The structural materials depended largely on the immediate supply. Slabs of sandstone, being abundant, were commonly used, neatly pecked and laid up in adobe mortar or chinked with
(Copyright, 19241 The Architectural & Building Press, 7tic.)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1924
NUMBER 2445 ANCIENT and MODERN ARCHITECTURE in
SANTA FE, N. M.
SANTA FE is proud of its ago. Before the
discovery of America it was the Indian capital of the Southwest. Later, the Spaniardg macfo it the capital of New Spain and from it rtsled tSeir wide dominion in North America. It beeam^H the seat of government of the new territory when the “Uni Led—States took possession and it was only to be expected that this, the second oldest city in the United States, would be chosen as the capital of New Mexico when that territory became a state. With such a historical background it is not surprising that Santa Fe clings to its traditions and that present day residences have copied the beautiful old Spanish architecture which m turn was inspired by the cliff dwellings of the Indians. But today concrete tile and Portland cement stucco are taking the place °f the adobe bricks and mud plastered walls of which the pueblos were built.
The typical Indian pueblo is a manycelled building of several stories, opening Een one or more courts
er plazas. In its arrangement its value as a defensive structure, besides being a place of habitation, was originally given weighty consideration. When the pueblo enclosed a single court, the outer wall was usually the highest, and was
AN ADOBE INDIAN PUEBLO AT TAOS, N. M
pierced with only small openings or portholes, to afford a view of the surrounding country. A slight elevation was usually preferred, but there are many instances where the site is a lofty mesa or a level plain, while still others were built in natural recesses in the rocky walls of canyons or
cliffs, hence their popular designation “cliff dwellings.”
Both rounded and polygonal structures were common, while some pueblos are semicircular in ground plan, with a high rear wall and with the houses arranged in terraces, the tiers of dwellings successively retreating so that the roof of the lower formed the means of access as well as the “front yard” of the tier next above, and so on to the sixth or seventh story.
The ground tier usually contained only small openings, access being gained by a movable ladder to the roof, which was provided with a hatchway.
Most of the pueblos still follow this ancient form, but there are now but few houses whose ground lioor is not provided with doors and windows.
The structural materials depended largely on the immediate supply. Slabs of sandstone, being abundant, were commonly used, neatly pecked and laid up in adobe mortar or chinked with
(Copyright, 19241 The Architectural & Building Press, 7tic.)