How Roswell Got a Moon Rock
A SMALL HUNK OF ROCK from the moon’s Taurus–Littrow Valley sits on display at the Roswell Museum as a tribute to Robert H. Goddard’s early work in rocket propulsion. A New England native, Goddard…
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Category: History
Route 66 Motels Lost to History
THEIR NEON SIGNS BLAZED a trail for weary Route 66 travelers for decades, promising a clean room in an auto court with modern amenities like air-conditioning and hot and cold running water. While many…
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The Story Behind the Magic Mural
ELLIS TANNER WANTED TO INSPIRE the generations of Navajo youth who have been coming into his Gallup store since it opened in 1967. “I wanted to put positive role models around my entire trading…
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Branded with History
ON THE SOUTH AND WEST DOORS of the 1892 Eddy County Courthouse, in Carlsbad, 211 cattle brands recognize ranches across southeast New Mexico and other parts of the U.S. Southwest. “They’re definitely…
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What We're Reading: The Lost Tomb
IN 1986, DOUGLAS PRESTON drove from New York City to Santa Fe. There, he settled into a writing career that included contributions to New Mexico Magazine. His 1995 New Yorker article, “The Mystery of…
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Add Enchantment to Your Holiday Decor
Light it up. The tiny mining town of Madrid has an outsize reputation for lighting the night. In the early 1900s, the town enjoyed free electricity supplied by the coal mining companies, which allowed…
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A Spectacle to Behold
A FEW MILES NORTH OF TAOS, a massive pair of thick-rimmed glasses peers out onto NM 150 near the driveway to the Bareiss Gallery. In 2002, Texas artist Steve Teeters constructed two sculptures of…
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Billy the Kid's Hole in the Wall
THERE’S A BULLET HOLE in the western wall of the Old Lincoln County Courthouse, but not just any bullet hole. On April 28, 1881, William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, was being held at the courthouse…
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Ham the Astrochimp's Journey into Space
AT THE NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF SPACE HISTORY, in Alamogordo, visitors leave bananas on the gravestone of Ham the Astrochimp as a tribute to the first great ape who was launched into space. “Before an…
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Check Out Carnegie's Library Legacy
NESTLED IN THE CENTER OF A LEAFY GREEN, the 1904 Carnegie Library brought neoclassical gravitas to New Town. East Las Vegas hatched the monument to book-learning by asking steel tycoon Andrew…
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