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Free Traveling Guides » States » New Mexico » Santa Fe Canyon Road
Canyon Road, located to the east of the Santa Fe Plaza, New Mexico, is home to the most vibrant and the third largest art market in the United States. Also, it has the highest concentration of art galleries in the city. These galleries exhibit a wide range of indigenous American, contemporary Southwestern, experimental art, and older Russian, Native American, and Taos Masters pieces. Canyon Road was once the path used by the Native Americans to access the sacred sited in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Today, this route is internationally acclaimed for its character, historic style, and charm that make it a major tourist destination in the US.
Attracting over 1.5 million visitors every year, Canyon Road has been selected by the American Planning Association as one of the ten Great Streets in America. This historic street is nearly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, stretching between the Paseo de Peralta and Cristo Rey Church. It is a narrow corridor filled with common-walled, one-storey structures, which provide glimpses into the ancient village streets of Spain, Mexico, and Moorish Africa. These buildings are known for their authentic adobe architecture interspersed with the Spanish-Pueblo Revival and the American territorial Styles. Several 2-3-room dwellings along the Street are over 100 years old.
The Canyon Road was established as a Residential Arts and Crafts District. At present, over dozens of traditional homes have been converted into studios and galleries, many featuring contemporary and conventional Spanish and Native American crafts, art, and sculpture. The breathtaking vistas offered by the Street are enriched by old trees that shade the Street; the native landscaping, such as sage brush and wildflowers; and the uneven “coyote” fences. The most impressive features on the Street are the strong contrasts and colors used for the buildings and the snow-capped mountain peaks rising above the rooftops. The doors and gates of most of the buildings are painted in rich shades of purple, turquoise, yellow, and red.
The Canyon Road is kept unique and lively by the presence of world-class restaurants and bars, combined with Spanish classical flamenco, guitar, and jazz. This Street is an integral part of the art-based economy of the city as it provides over 2,500 jobs and generates nearly $54 million in annual tax revenues. Style, charm, and character are the hallmarks of Canyon Road, which is well worth visiting.
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