National Park Service Southwest Regional Office facts for kids
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National Park Service Southwest Regional Office
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 Location in New Mexico
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1100 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
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| Area | 8 acres (3.2 ha) |
| Built | 1939 |
| Built by | Civilian Conservation Corps, Et al. |
| Architect | Cecil Doty |
| Architectural style | Mission, Spanish Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000067 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 6, 1970 |
| Designated NHL | May 28, 1987 |
The National Park Service Southwest Regional Office is a special building in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It helps manage and support the many national parks in the American Southwest. This includes famous places like the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park.
The building itself is quite unique. It was designed by an architect named Cecil J. Doty in the 1930s. It's made from adobe, which is a traditional building material from the region. In fact, it's the biggest adobe office building in the entire country! Its style is called Spanish Pueblo Revival architecture. This means it looks like old Spanish missions and Native American pueblos. Because of its importance, it was named a National Historic Landmark in 1987. You can visit the office during regular business hours, but tours are not usually offered.
Contents
Building History and Design
Why Was It Built?
In the early 1930s, the National Park Service was growing. They knew they would soon be in charge of many more national parks. To help manage all these new parks, they needed a main office for the Southwest region. This is why they decided to build this special office in Santa Fe.
Who Built It?
The building was designed in 1937 by Cecil Doty, a talented architect for the National Park Service. He chose the Spanish Pueblo Revival style to fit the local culture. The actual construction was done by crews from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was a government program during the Great Depression. It gave jobs to young men, helping them earn money and learn skills. The project also received money from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), another government program that created jobs.
The CCC workers made the adobe bricks right there on the building site. They even helped build some of the furniture, also designed by Doty.
Unique Adobe Architecture
This office building is huge, covering about 24,000 square feet. It's known as the largest adobe office building ever built. Its design copies the look and feel of traditional adobe buildings in the Southwest.
The office is set up like an old mission, with a central courtyard or patio. The main part of the building, where the entrance is, has two stories. The walls are made of adobe and covered with a cement finish. These walls are very thick, ranging from about 3 to 5 feet! The main lobby has cool flagstone floors. Other parts of the building have carpeted concrete floors.
Images for kids
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The National Park Service Southwest Regional Office building.
