Images of Santa Fe Plaza – North Central New Mexico, taken in March 2016.

I visited Santa Fe a little over 30 years ago to attend the wedding of a friend whom I worked with in Houston at Shell Oil Company. During that visit I had the opportunity to take a side trip to the Old Santa Fe Plaza (1610), home to the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States and seat of New Mexico government for centuries. This unique building bordered a plaza that included many shops and restaurants, all of which had preserved the look and feel of the old territory.

I was very impressed by the plaza back then and was pleased to find that it has retained its old world charm so many years later. Part of that charm is the use of the walkway in front of the Palace of Governors by Native American vendors selling their crafts to visitors along with the older reconditioned adobe buildings and the courtyard itself. In visiting here very early in the spring most of the trees are still barren or just beginning to bud but the charm of the space and the visitors that use it is fascinating.

I spent several hours roaming and photographing the area, enjoying the art and sculptures, vendors, street performers, interesting people and an almost continuous parade of motorcycles and vintage cars. In fact the only disappointment of the day was that the Mexican restaurant I had lunch at some thirty years ago was not open; it was after all Easter Sunday.