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PHOTO: ITSATRIP.ORG


l Strolling along the winding brick walkways of Old Town, with its adobe structures now housing shops and restaurants, visitors can easily imagine themselves transported back to the 1700s, when this area was home to new settlers.


These highly decorated military men, shown at a book signing in Old Town, served as Navajo Code Talkers during World War II. The Code Talkers created what has been called the most ingenious and successful code in military history. d


New Mexico was admitted to the Union as the forty-seventh state.


The First Neighborhood


Various sections of Albuquerque hold evidence of its unique past, but perhaps none are quite so striking as Old Town. The self-named First Neighborhood of the city, this historic district looks something like it did three hundred years ago. Many of the small adobe buildings are shops, cafés, and galleries today, but when they were originally built in the 1700s, they were constructed as homes for the early settlers. The gentle lines of the architecture are pleasing to the eye;


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the thick adobe walls and covered sidewalks offer cool respite from the bright heat of the desert sun. In the center of Old Town is the plaza, and opposite that is the church of San Felipe de Neri, founded in 1706 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is not the original church structure; the first one collapsed during a heavy rainy season in 1792. What stands now was built in 1793, and much of what remains here is original to that building. The church and its parish enjoy a long and varied history, including having its rectory leased by the Union army for a number of years after the American Civil War.


When you wander Old Town, you will often be delighted and surprised by the things you’ll encounter. On a


summer afternoon, a group of distin- guished men in uniform sit at a table outside a bookstore. These are Navajo Code Talkers gathered for a book signing, sharing tales with a long line of interested patrons.


On another afternoon you may find yourself among tents and vendors, caught up in the fun of the Hot Time in Old Town Salsa Fiesta. As you sample the salsas and condiments at this fiesta, remember that New Mexicans take their chili seriously; when you order any local dish you’ll be asked if you want your chili red, green, or Christmas, a combination of red and green. A winter’s evening on the plaza is aglow with the lights of dozens of luminaries, illuminating the way for Old Town’s Holiday Stroll. Any time of year you’ll be able to


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PHOTO: PHILIP HARTIGAN


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