Las Vegas, New Mexico

On the historic Santa Fe Trail

Photos: June 12, 2000

In the 1890s a residential boom occured in the Carnegie Park District of Las Vegas.
Here are some photos of houses in the neighborhood near the Carnegie Library.

900 Sixth Street

Left: Frank Springer House, 925 Sixth Street

This is one of Las Vegas' grand residences, now known as the Carriage House Bed and Breakfast.
One of the Territorial New Mexico's leading citizens, attorney and Supreme Court Justice,
Frank Springer, built this towering mansion. It features common elements of the
"Free Classic" phase of Queen Anne style, such as lumberyard classic columns and
balustrade, although the addition of aluminum siding alters its its historic appearance.
This is the Springer family who founded Springer, NM, north of Las Vegas.

This is where we stayed on our first night of a month-long auto tour that extended
as far north as Jasper, Alberta in the heart of the Canadian Rockies.
We would have enjoyed the ceiling fans more if the night had been a bit cooler
on June 12^th. Our lovely British hostess, Anne Bradford, served a wonderful breakfast
of unique breads and quiche and much more.

We found our Mrs. Bradford to be remarkably resourceful. Because of the long-lasting Las Vegas
has been on water rationing for several years. Just when they thought they might be able
to allow the residents to water their yards once a week, a forest fire in the mountains
between Las Vegas and Santa Fe required all the water they might have used for that.
Not to be defeated, our hostess pumped her laundry water into a large trash barrel.
Then she pumped the water into a hose with a sprinkler attached. In this way,
she was able to apply enough water to keep her flowers and grass alive!

923 Sixth Street

Owen checks the map in our "Historic Las Vegas" brochure.

Not mentioned in the above listed brochure,
here's a bit of New Mexico trivia we'd like to share with you:
Did you know that New Mexico was not named after the country of Mexico?
Mexico was known as New Spain at that time.
New Mexico was actually named after Mexico City!

926 Sixth Street

This interesting house is across the street from the Carriage House B & B.

When we visited June 12, 2000, several of these lovely old victorians were for sale.
Anybody who loves old houses and can earn a living here, could find some bargains.

Page last updated July 20, 2000.