The Inn of the Five Graces (New Mexico)

The Inn of the Five Graces is located in an historic section of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the corner of Old Santa Fe Trail, one of the main and most historic roads into the city, and East De Vargas, a quiet, one-way street. The hotel is next door to the Santa Fe Playhouse and the Pink Adobe, long one of the most famous restaurants in the city, across the street from the Chapel of San Miguel (the oldest church in America), and only a block from the State Capital building. It is a five-minute walk from the hotel across the Santa Fe River to the center of town (the Plaza & Palace of the Governor) and to Canyon Road, where many of the high-end art galleries and restaurants are located.

The capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe is the second oldest town in America, first settled in 1607, 13 years before Plymouth Colony was established by the Mayflower Pilgrims. Located in north central New Mexico, in a valley formed by the Rio Grande, Santa Fe is bordered on the West by the volcanic Jemez mountains and on the East by the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies. At 7,000 feet above sea level, the area has four distinct seasons and enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year with an average 50% relative humidity.

Pueblo Indian villages occupied the area from 1050 to 1150, but archaeologists believe these villages were abandoned 200 years before Coronado came in 1540 and claimed the "Kingdom of New Mexico" for Spain. Santa Fe was established as a small cluster of European-type dwellings in the early 1600s, and soon became the seat of power for the Spanish Empire north of the Rio Grande.

The Inn of the Five Graces is part of the "Barrio de Analco" (named "other side of the water" since it is across the Santa Fe river from the central Plaza), the oldest European settlement in Santa Fe other than the Plaza, which was home to the Tlaxcala Indian servants of the Spanish settlers from Mexico. Across the street is the oldest church is America, the Chapel of San Miguel, built in 1626. The Chapel and much of Santa Fe were burned in 1680 when the Pueblo Indians revolted against the Spanish colonists, but the church was rebuilt in 1710.

In 1846, Mexico ceded New Mexico and California to the United States. Following the arrival of the telegraph in 1868 and the railroad in 1880, Santa Fe underwent an economic revolution. New Mexico gained statehood in 1912, and its dry climate soon attracted many seeking a cure for tuberculosis. Santa Fe continued to be the region's seat of culture and history, with the Museum of New Mexico opening in 1909 and the Museum of Fine Arts in 1917.

With a current population of about 60,000 people, Santa Fe is a well-known destination for the arts and is a renowned center for spiritual healing. The city's emphasis on historic preservation and a zoning code which mandates its distinctive Spanish-Pueblo style of architecture based on the adobe and wood construction of the past has created a unique urban environment that attracts well over a million visitors each year.

Santa Fe, NM
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