La Fonda on the Plaza is a historical luxury hotel, located at 100 E. San Francisco Street and

Old Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

in downtown

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

adjacent to the Plaza. The hotel has been a member o
Historic Hotels of America
the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, since 1991. ''La Fonda'' simply means "the inn" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, but the hotel has been described as "the ''grand dame'' of Santa Fe's hotels."

History

The site of the current La Fonda has been the location of various inns since 1609. It is on the

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro ( en, Royal Road of the Interior Land), also known as the Silver Route, was a Spanish road between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo (''Ohkay Owingeh''), New Mexico, USA, that was used from 1598 to 1882. It was ...

, which linked

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Ohkay Owingeh ( Tewa: Ohkwee Ówîngeh ), known by its Spanish name as San Juan de los Caballeros from 1589 to 2005, is a pueblo and census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Ohkay Owingeh is also a federally recognized tribe ...

and was the terminus of the 800-mile-long Old

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

, which linked

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

to Santa Fe and was an essential commercial route prior to the 1880 introduction to the railroad. The

Fred Harvey Company The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey to cater to the growing n ...

established La Fonda as one of its premier Harvey Houses.Dye 36 An earlier construction of the hotel, called the United States Hotel but nicknamed ''La Fonda Americana'' by locals, burned down in 1912. In 1920, the Santa Fe Builders Corporations issue shares of stock to raise funds to build a new hotel. Architect

Isaac Hamilton Rapp Isaac Hamilton Rapp, (1854 – March 27, 1933) was an American architect who has been called the "Creator of the Santa Fe style." He was born in Orange, New Jersey. Rapp learned his trade working for his father, a sometime architect and building ...

(1854-1933), the "Creator of the Santa Fe style" was chosen to design the new hotel in the

Pueblo Revival style The Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from Santa Fe de Nuevo México's traditional Pueblo architecture, the Spanish missions, and Territori ...

, which drew inspiration from the

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

architecture of indigenous

Pueblo people The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zun ...

s of the region. The new hotel was hailed as "the purest Santa Fe type of architecture and ... one of the most truly distinctive hotels anywhere between Chicago and San Diego." After its auspicious launch, the hotel closed temporarily in the 1920s, until it was purchased in 1925 by the

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

. The new owners commissioned local muralists to paint the interior walls, beginning La Fonda's longstanding support of local visual arts.

Mary Colter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

redesigned the hotel's interior, setting a tone inspired by Spanish and Southwest Native American aesthetics that continues today. Her designs included exposed vigas, or ceiling beams, and Mexican tiles. The Harvey Company promoted tourism in the Southwest and offered "Indian Detours," educational cultural tours to the Pueblos, beginning in 1926. The hotel continued as a Harvey House until 1969.

Shops

La Fonda on the Plaza houses many shops and galleries. In the 1930s, it was home to the Harvey Newsstand. Today, in addition to numerous boutiques, the hotel boasts La Fonda Newsstand and Senor Murphy Candymaker.

Restaurants

La Plazuela is a full-service restaurant serving inspired

New Mexican cuisine New Mexican cuisine is the cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. The region is primarily known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican cuisine originating in Nuevo México. This cuisi ...

, while the La Fiesta Lounge, a bar and restaurant, serves lunch and dinner. La Fiesta has live music and a dance floor. On the roof of the fifth floor is the Bell Tower Bar. On the street level is the eclectic gift shop, Detours at La Fonda and as well as many other shops, including the independently-owned French Pastry Shop and Restaurant, which serves breakfast and lunch.

Awards and recognition

The hotel's art and historical tours, led by trained docents, won the Top HAT Award for "outstanding attraction" in 2015. Two staff members also received service awards.

Movies and popular culture

Ride the Pink Horse ''Ride the Pink Horse'' is a 1947 film noir crime film produced by Universal Studios. It was directed by Robert Montgomery, who also stars in it, from a screenplay by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer, which was based on the 1946 novel of the same ...

'', a 1947

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

, was shot at the La Fonda. Season 1, episode 3, "Dueling Politicians; Nuclear Intel; Seattle Scammers" of the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

's ''

Mysteries at the Hotel ''Mysteries at the Hotel'' (formerly ''Hotel Secrets & Legends'') is an American documentary television series that premiered on Sunday, April 6, 2014, on the Travel Channel and ended on June 8, 2014. The series features the secrets and legends ...

'' was shot at La Fonda.

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

{{commonscat, La Fonda
A Legend, Going Strong
article about La Fonda by ''

New Mexico Magazine ''New Mexico Magazine'' was launched in 1923, and is the first state magazine founded in the United States. It is published monthly in print, online, and via an iOS app. Additionally, the magazine also maintains a store, selling New Mexico-relate ...

'' Buildings and structures in Santa Fe, New Mexico Hotels established in 1922 Hotel buildings completed in 1922 Hotels in New Mexico Pueblo Revival architecture in Santa Fe, New Mexico Historic Hotels of America