The Essence of Santa Fe: From a Way of Life to a Style

An exploration of the developments that took a unique and sustainable way of life and turned it into the style of modern-day Santa Fe blends historic and contemporary photographs to unveil the undeniable magic of this charming city.

The concept of Santa Fe "style" was original invented in 1912 by city leaders anxious to attract tourists and the money they would bring. Originally focused on the Pueblo Spanish architectural revival then in vogue, its more recent invocation reflects a fabricated connection between the indigenous charms of the ancient city and everything from cheap cologne to pink coyotes, from sprawling multi-million-dollar stuccoed mansions clinging precariously to fragile hillsides to exotic drinks and dishes at local restaurants. Lost beneath this sell of glitz and glamour is another Santa Fe. It is the authentic Santa Fe that grew out of a unique history, starting with the lessons gleaned from neighboring Pueblo Indians. Spanish settlers learned how to adapt to the isolation the faced and carved out an existence based on simplicity, humility, functionality, and especially ingenuity. Early New Mexicans had to use what they found-earth, stones, wood, straw, water, bones-to make the things they needed. Everything they created had a function; nothing was gratuitous. Homes were small and clustered together into compounds for mutual support and safety and to keep the family close. Streets followed goat paths and water courses. And out of this has grown a charming city with an old-world feeling. The true Santa Fe is a way of life; it's not a style. The Essence of Santa Fe: From a Way of Life to a Style challenges the misconceptions fostered by a century of insensitive marketing. It traces the developments that took a unique and sustainable way of life and turned it into style. Through a rich blend of historic and contemporary photographs, the book unveils the undeniable magic of this old city that still can be found if one knows where to look. The Essence of Santa Fe serves as a guide to that magic and to the true essence of Santa Fe.