New Mexico History Museum on the Santa Fe Plaza
Art and History Shine in New Building Behind Palace of the Governors
May 23, 2009
The New Mexico History Museum on the Santa Fe Plaza opened Memorial Day weekend 2009. The ceremonial ribbon was cut, appropriately, with a pair of 18th-century scissors, launching this new 96,000-square-foot, high-tech facility, built behind the historic Palace of the Governors.
The core exhibit, Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now, mixes the museum's vast collection of artifacts with hands-on exhibits and interactive multimedia displays. They tell the story of 400 years of cultural interactions between the state's Native American, Spanish and Anglo settlers.
The museum highlights key historical periods and events, but refrains from imparting a point of view about them. Instead, it presents the stories in an often theatrical setting, and allows visitors to make up their own minds.
Wherever possible, exhibits tell the stories of real New Mexicans in their own words. Touch the petroglyphs on the re-created river cliff wall, for example, and it will trigger Apache, Navajo or Pueblo Indians speaking about what the place means to them.
New Mexico Artists and Writers in the History Museum
The New Mexico History Museum is an exciting facility, with a light, bright entrance on Lincoln Avenue. A rotating exhibit in the Jewel Box beside the main entrance entices curious passers-by. Inside, a huge public area opens out into the Palace of the Governors courtyard.
Large contemporary artworks by Paula Castillo and Kumi Yamashita adorn the public area and mezzanine, as well as the outside of the new building. The museum shop and bookshop sell a range of arts, crafts and works by New Mexican artists and writers.
The exhibits are spread through a series of rooms on two levels, reflecting and re-creating historical themes and settings. Among the most striking is an exhibit on the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, with burnt timbers and adobe walls dramatizing the attack on the Palace of the Governors, and a ceiling installation of 300 arrows, handcrafted by volunteers using materials and styles of the 17th century.
Themes range from Spanish and Anglo colonization to the Manhattan Project and the Native American Code Talkers of World War II. There are fascinating stories about famous people such as Kit Carson, Billy the Kid, Po'Pay and Pancho Villa.
Palace of the Governors on Santa Fe Plaza
The cornerstone of the museum is the Palace of the Governors, which faces Santa Fe Plaza. Native American artists run a popular craft market beneath its timber portal.
Dating from around 1610, this ancient adobe is the oldest public building in continuous use in the country, serving as the capital of the regional government for 300 years. In 1909 it became part of the Museum of New Mexico, and has housed the state history museum for the past century.
As the star exhibit of the new New Mexico History Museum, the Palace of the Governors will continue to display important artifacts, including the Segesser Hide Paintings, a rare depiction of Spanish colonial life painted on animal hides. The Palace Print Shop in the courtyard, which houses historic presses, will also be open to the public.
Other facilities in the new museum include a changing gallery for temporary exhibitions, photo archives, the Fray Angelico Chavez History Library , a cafe area with rooftop terrace, computer kiosks and a 210-seat auditorium.
The New Mexico History Museum is open 10am-5pm, daily Memorial Day through Labor Day, Tuesday-Sunday rest of the year.
*
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
