TRIPS INTO HISTORY - Page 84 of 91 - Historic Sites in the U.S. and Travel Ideas

Santa Fe’s La Fonda Hotel and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad

There is probably no better example of the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad’s early promotion of Santa Fe as a tourist destination than the La Fonda Hotel. Located directly across from the southeast corner of the plaza, The La Fonda Hotel, a glowing example of Santa Fe’s unique adobe architecture, remains one of Santa Fe’s busiest hotels. One of the hotel’s most famous attributes is that it is located at the end of the Santa Fe Trail. Across the street from the hotel and near the southeast corner of the plaza is a plaque demarcating the end of the Trail.

There had been an inn at the current La Fonda location since early in the 1800’s. In fact, when General Kearny took over Santa Fe during the Mexican-American War in 1846, he stayed at the inn which was then named The United States Hotel. At a point years later the hotel was renamed the Exchange Hotel. Later, a group of local Santa Fe investors took over the hotel and named it La Fonda.

Real changes came to the hotel in 1925 after it was sold to the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. The hotel that the AT&SF bought was reconstructed in 1922 but when the railroad took ownership they expanded the building once again. By the latter part of the 1800’s the main way people traveled to the American southwest was by train and the AT&SF was the first rail line to enter New Mexico. The year was 1878. Railroads had a history of using their natural influence with travelers to promote destinations. The Southern Pacific did this with the Del Monte Hotel in Monterey California. The Northern Pacific did the same thing with it’s rail line crossing the southern end of Glacier National Park. The Canadian Pacific was quite successful promoting the natural scenic beauty of western Canada. The railroads had active advertising departments that could tap into the adventurous spirit of the turn of the century tourist.

The AT&SF along with the hotel/restaurant management skill of the Fred Harvey Company. Fred Harvey’s company made Santa Fe their top priority. What’s interesting is that the city of Santa Fe does not lie directly the the AT&SF line but is connected to it by an eighteen mile spur line to it’s station in Lamy New Mexico. Most historians agree that besides being part of the railroad’s name. the town of Santa Fe and it’s surrounding area was the obvious area to promote. The railroad as well as The Fred Harvey Company contributed greatly to the promotion of Santa Fe as an art community. When the rail spur was completed from Lamy, artists in great numbers traveled to Santa Fe and started putting the areas scenic beauty on canvas. Additionally the railroad commissioned several artists to create artwork highlighting the unique features of the region. Adobes, mesas, mountains, beautifully colored rocks..all the things that make Santa Fe stand out. Many of these paintings ended up adorning AT&SF stations along their line as well as the Fred Harvey restaurants and hotels. AT&SF brochures captured the architectural distinctiveness of Santa Fe as well as articles put out by the advertising department. All of this promotion resulted in more and more people traveling to the area. Many people credit both the AT&SF and Fred Harvey with literally inventing southwest tourism.

Another first for Santa Fe was the “Indian detour” escorted trips by specially equipped cars and buses. These motor tours typically started at the La Fonda Hotel lobby and took travelers to surrounding areas of interest including Indian pueblos and other scenic sights. Often there would be informative lectures about the sights to see in and around Santa Fe by well informed Indian detour guides. Many of these lectures would take place at AT&SF’s La Fonda. Indian detour was a very successful endeavor which was owned by the AT&SF and managed by the Harvey people. The highpoint of motoring lasted from the mid 1920’s through the 30’s. The start of World War Two put a halt to sightseeing tours and the improvement of roads such as with Route 66 and the fact that more and more people were driving their own vehicles started the decline of these type of ventures. Fred Harvey as many know also had great success with his Harvey motor tours at the Grand Canyon. That was another AT&SF/Harvey venture.

The AT&SF took advantage of Santa Fe’s multicultural uniqueness, both with it’s people and it’s architecture, and was very successful in urging visitors to a region they had only previously read about in the eastern papers. The railroad was responsible for the building of a burgeoning art community and also for the promotion of Indian artwork and jewelry products to the traveling public. The railroad brought a market right to the doorstep of Santa Fa natives. That doorstep as far as the railroad was concerned was the La Fonda Hotel, recognized by many as Fred Harvey’s most famous Harvey House.

What the railroad did in essence was to highlight the attributes that really were in Santa Fe and the surrounding area all along. When looking back now after over a century, the success that the AT&SF had with helping to make Santa Fe a national tourist destination is an amazing story.

Sandia Peak Tramway / Albuquerque New Mexico

Many people who have visited Santa Fe New Mexico have taken the opportunity to riding the very unique Sandia Peak Tramway. The Tramway is located just north of Albuquerque and is a one of a kind adventure. It’s really a must stop on your Albuquerque tour. Whether you’re coming or going from the Santa Fe area, a side trip to the Sandia Peak Tramway is as close as you can get to a must stop. Young and old will marvel at this Sandia Peak Tram feat of engineering which makes it the most unique aerial tramway in the U.S.

The view from the top of Sandia Peak is absolutely spectacular. The view encompasses some 11,000 square miles of New Mexico. The ride on the Sandia Tram up to the top is also as spectacular in engineering terms.The tramway was built by Bell Engineering of Lucerne Switzerland which not only built tramways all over the world but built Switzerland’s first in 1888.

The building of the Sandia Tramway posed a very difficult challenge for the engineers from Switzerland mostly due to the mountains very rocky and steep terrain. When you ride the tram up the mountain you can readily appreciate the job they did to complete the 2.7 mile cable. One quite unique thing about the Sandia Peak Tramway is that there are only two towers supporting the cable over the 2.7 mile distance. The towers are anchored in granite by several 30 foot deep stressed steel rods. The elevation of tower two is 8,750 feet and it’s construction involved the use of helicopters because the terrain around it’s base was simply too rugged to build service roads.

The first riders took the aerial tram on May 7, 1966. This was after two years of construction and then after two months of testing. The two tramcars are attached to the hauling cables and the weight of the downhill tramcar helps to pull the uphill tramcar to the summit. The point where the two tramcars pass midway between the base and summit, they are almost 1,000 feet above the ground. The tramcars average 12 MPH. The main power is a 600 horse power dc electric winch motor. The tramcars have cable brakes which close automatically and hold the car firm if any emergency develops. Each car can carry up to fifty passengers.he tramway system such as the Sandia Peak Tramway requires servicing. In fact, the original cables were replaced in 1997. The replacement of the cables took seven weeks to complete and was again with the aid of Swiss engineers.

Again, the view from the top of Sandia Peak is spectacular. In addition to getting some great pictures, there is also hiking along the trails of the Cibola National Forest. I have hiked a few times on these trails and it’s a good fairly level hike with a lot of great vistas. There is also dining at the top of Sandia Peak. In fact, a restaurant named High Finance is the one restaurant at the top and also is the only restaurant which has such a unique way of getting there. It’s an excellent place to dine while enjoying the one of a kind view.

When you’re walking the trails on the top of Sandia Peak you will also notice the Sandia Ski area which is on the east side of the mountain. Albuquerque’s ski area, Sandia Peak is a winter sports mecca very near the city. The ski area is accessible by both the aerial tram and by automobile from the east side of Sandia Mountain.

The Sandia Peak Tramway is located on the western base of Sandia Peak in Albuquerque’s Sandia Mountains. This is north of Abuquerque and east of Interstate-25. From Interstate-25, take Exit 234 which is called Tramway Road. Follow Tramway Road, East to the Sandia Peak Tramway.

From Interstate-40, take Exit 167 which is Tramway Blvd. Take Tramway Blvd. North for about 9 miles to the Sandia Peak Tramway.

Pawnee Bill and His Wild West Show

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West was the most acclaimed entertainment troupe in the latter 1800’s and at the turn of the century. Old West shows were quite in vogue in the last part of the 1800’s. No other show of it’s kind, and most likely no other show period, had the world acclaim that the Wild West had.

The Buffalo Bill show was in demand. When traveling throughout England and the Continent during the 1880’s and 90’s, the Wild West performed for heads of state, royalty and influential people of all callings. There was never another group of entertainers quite like Buffalo Bill Cody assembled. Some of these entertainers grew famous during their years with the Wild West, most notably Phoebe Ann Moses, the sharpshooter with the stage name Annie Oakley.

Pawnee Bill

A man named Gordon William Lillie, born in 1860, was also a Wild West showman. Lillie was known by the name “Pawnee Bill” and there were several reasons for this. In 1879, Gordon was working on the Pawnee Indian agency in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.

The photo left is of Pawnee Bill and May Lillie

In 1883, he was given the opportunity to work with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show as the Pawnee interpreter. This work with the show would ultimately give him his nickname Pawnee Bill. The need for an interpreter accompanying the Wild West was real. As most people recall, the Wild West performers for the most part were the genuine articles. The Indians were genuine Native Americans, some not many years away from the warpath. Sitting Bull himself joined Cody’s Wild West for about four months. Nevertheless, Pawnee Bill’s association with William Cody would lead to opportunities in the future.

Pawnee Bill met May Manning, another western performer, who was known to many as the “Champion Girl Horseback Shot of the West.” May Lillie“, her soon to be new name, was quite a skilled female sharpshooter. The couple (pictured above) were married in 1886 at May’s parents home in Philadelphia. Gordon Lillie’s wedding gift to his bride was a pony and a Marlin 22 target rifle.

After the marriage in 1886 they started their own western show called, “Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West“. Unfortunately, the first year didn’t go too well financially and they then created a smaller show called “Pawnee Bill’s Historical Wild West Indian Museum and Encampment Show.” This new smaller operation fared much better and Lillie recruited Jose Barrera (pictured below), known to audiences as “Mexican Joe“. Barrera was only 15 years old when he joined Pawnee Bill. Even at that young age he was an expert equestrian and roper. He was called the greatest trick roper in the world. Mexican Joe along with other performers were also noted for their unique “Bailable a Caballo” in which both riders and horses danced in pairs to the music of a twelve piece band. During his lifetime, Mexican Joe toured throughout the United States and Europe. He performed with Pawnee Bill, Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West and with the successful Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Show. Mexican Joe was a star in many old west shows.

In regards to the talented May Manning, she became very involved in Women’s Relief efforts, buffalo herd preservation as well as Indian culture. May also became involved in films starring in “May Lillie, Queen of the Buffalo Ranch,” a film produced at the ranch. In 1936.

The image right is of Mexican Joe

In 2011, May Manning Lillie was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth Texas for her work during her Wild West Show career as well as her role in the preservation of the American bison. The Pawnee Bill Ranch was a refuge site for the buffalo.

The Wild West Shows

To give you a feel for Pawnee Bill’s show, the group included Mexican cowboys, Pawnee Indians, Japanese performers, and Arab jugglers. The show appeared to be part western show and part circus. Pawnee Bill featured boomerang throwers, Turkish musicians and freaks of all sort in his museum annex.

Pawnee Bill and Buffalo Bill Cody joined forces in 1908. This new show was called “The Two Bill’s Show“. Unfortunately, while traveling with their show in Denver Colorado, the Two Bill’s Show was foreclosed on and dissolved. “The Two Bills Show” didn’t enjoy the same fame as the Cody’s Wild West show. The photo below is of a cowboy around 1902.

Visit the Pawnee Bill Ranch Museum

Today, you can still see an edition of Pawnee Bill’s show during the last three Saturdays of June. Tickets for these events can be bought at the Pawnee Bill Ranch Museum in Pawnee Oklahoma.

The ranch area containing the buildings is located on Blue Hawk Peak. The Ranch refers to it as “the hill” to differentiate it from the lower pavilion/picnic/arena area and the large pastures that comprise the bulk of the ranch.

These performances in Pawnee Oklahoma are not part of the Pawnee Bill shows that take place in Fort Worth Texas. The tickets for the Pawnee Oklahoma events cannot be purchased online, only at the Ranch Museum itself.

Visitors to the Pawnee Oklahoma ranch can now tour Pawnee Bill and his wife, May’s, 14 room mansion which is fully furnished with their original belongings. Today, Pawnee Bill Ranch consists of 500 of the original 2,000 acres. It also includes original outbuildings.

The ranch is now operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society. The Pawnees Bill Ranch is open as a historic site dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of history as it relates to Pawnee Bill and May Manning Lillie. Many people who visit the Pawnee Bill Ranch combine it with a visit to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Both the ranch and the museum in Oklahoma City make good additions to your Oklahoma vacation planner. They fit in well for a low cast family trip.

The city of Pawnee Oklahoma is a very historic and an excellent place to visit when you’re in the area. Also a good place to add to your summer vacation road trip planner.

The splendor of the old west cowboys and Indians are still very much alive and well in Pawnee. The magnificent old buildings stand today as monuments of a time gone by. Pawnee is.located in the northern part of the state, about 50 miles northwest of Tulsa and about 75 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

(Article copyright Trips Into History. Photos and images in the public domain)