We’re sitting in the Bovés’ small adobe house just a few
feet from the Acequia Madre, discussing how one of
Santa Fe’s oldest manmade structures has been incorporated into a brand-new—and long-awaited—civic
feature. Last September, after decades of dreaming,
planning, and development, Santa Fe dedicated its 12-
acre Railyard Park and Plaza in the heart of the city.
The acequia is a simple structure: a ditch three or
four feet deep and perhaps five feet wide, lined by
Siberian elms that soon will be replaced by newly planted
cottonwoods. But despite its humble aspect, the acequia
represents for many Santa Feans the soul of an older city
that has been largely built up and paved over. And now,
one could argue, it is the soul of the wondrous new park
that has sprung up around it.
During park construction, the Bovés tell me, archaeologists uncovered six side ditches off the Acequia Madre,
suggesting that crops once were grown on what is now
parkland. In the early 1880s, the land was inadvertently
preserved from development by the arrival of the railroads for which the new park is named. From the north
COURTESYOFTHEMUSEUMOFNEWMEXICO
Santa Fe’s historic railyard, shown above in the 1920s, has been transformed into a new downtown park and plaza. Below: The Rail Runner
commuter train runs through the new park. Previous page: The Santa Fe
Farmers Market convenes at the new park and plaza. Opposite: Data for
the map of Santa Fe was made available by the U.S. Geological Survey,
EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Santa Fe Railyard drawing:
Courtesy of Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation,reprinted by
permission. Illustration by Daniel Bish. Graphic design by Michael Motley
ANDREWNEIGHBOUR
