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Three men at San Felipe de Neri

The Old Town of Albuquerque retains several features of Laws of the Indies planning codes which were applied to Mexican and Spanish settlements in the western regions of the U.S., or the "Hispanic West" (John W. Reps, The Forgotton Frontier: Urban Planning in the American West before 1890).

A bit of a grid of streets remain. There is a main plaza, Old Town Plaza, that contains a rotunda. The church, an important building, is located across from Old Town Plaza, on the plaza's north side. It is the entry to the San Felipe de Neri churchyard that is shown in the photograph. It was a sunny but cold day. Three men took advantage of the wall seat and nearby car to relax, chat, and enjoy the sun. Seating areas and sun. Two elements importance to the success of a public space (William H. Whyte, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces).

Comments

Karen said…
And I hope there's a bit of shade nearby for those hot SW summers! Thanks for all these posts about NM, it's really making me want to return there after many years between visits! Going to a Festival of Trees tomorrow, wish I could teleport you up here so you could see what you thought. It will probably be a little on the silly side but I hope fun and educational as well.
May 10, 2009

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