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Party like it's 1926: Old Santa Fe Association celebrates a century Apr 29, 2026 The Old Santa Fe Association started with a fight. A century later — after helping to shape the look and feel of Santa Fe’s downtown area — the organization finds itself on the brink of a potential battle over the future of historic preservation in the city. Now historic in its own right, the Old Santa Fe Association was formed in April 1926 amid opposition to a proposal to create a summer artists colony on east-side city land near what is now St. John’s College. With founding members including luminaries such as Gustave Baumann, John Gaw Meem and Mary Austin, the group convinced the city to reject the land sale. One of the nation’s oldest historic preservation organizations, the association later became a major power player in Santa Fe. But its centennial comes as some city councilors are calling to roll back the powers of the Historic Districts Review Board, tasked with ensuring projects in certain areas comply with the city’s historic code. Critics have accused of the board of using its mission to strangle development in the downtown area. The historic group’s milestone also comes at an inflection point for the city. Officials are overhauling the Santa Fe land use code and general plan for the first time in decades, and the early stages of a massive redevelopment of the city-owned midtown campus on St. Michael’s Drive are underway — all of which could profoundly effect the city’s built environment. Speakers at a Saturday celebration of the Old Santa Fe Association’s centennial called on members to vigorously defend the city’s historic character. “Only with our voices will the new self-appointed, self-satisfied and all-knowing architects be educated into the proper perspective,” board member John Pen La Farge said. An actor dressed up as the late scholar and writer Austin was a surprise guest at the celebration, held at the Scottish Rite Center on Paseo de Peralta. Attendees were encouraged to wear 1920s attire in homage to the association’s founding. Among those in the costumed portion of the crowd were a socialite, a flapper and a fortune teller. Keeping characterAfter its first fight in 1926, the Old Santa Fe Association continued to rally against projects its members viewed as detrimental to the city and to preserve and secure historic status for culturally significant properties. One of its most impactful projects was the city’s 1957 historic styles ordinance, which governs development in historic districts. It was written by members Meem, Oliver La Farge and Irene von Horvath. In recent years the organization has branched out in its advocacy, lending its support to the 2023 campaign for a city excise tax on home sales over $1 million to fund affordable housing initiatives. Voters overwhelmingly approved the tax, but it became embroiled in litigation. The association recently filed an appeal against a proposed Marriott hotel at the intersection of Cerrillos Road and St. Francis Drive. Despite its influence in matters of historic preservation, it suffered a stinging defeat in December in a battle to preserve several casitas on Don Gaspar. The Historic Districts Review Board approved the state government’s plan to demolish the buildings to make way for construction of a large office complex next to the state Capitol. Old Santa Fe Association Executive Director Ed Archuleta said the organization’s No. 1 priority going forward will be fighting legislation under consideration by City Councilor Pilar Faulkner calling for a review of the historic board, including potentially reassigning its authority to the Planning Commission. “We realize that there are some things in the historic ordinance that need to be fixed, but I think it would be a great mistake to do away with the whole board,” Archuleta said in an interview this week. The association continues to keep a close eye on plans for the toppled Soldiers’ Monument, an obelisk that had stood on the Santa Fe Plaza for over 150 years, but does not have an official position on its future — the board, like the community at large, is divided. “I think it’s a no-win situation,” Archuleta said. ‘Act vigorously’He also believes the association should take a more active interest outside historic districts, contending many of the apartment complexes built on Santa Fe’s south side “don’t reflect the character of the city at all.” “Not everything has to be adobe-looking or stucco; there is room for creativity,” he said. “But when you just build these massive, brutalistic buildings, it’s not Santa Fe.” Apartment complexes also came up at Saturday’s celebration. "We need affordable housing,” association board President Randall Bell said. “What we don’t need are giant apartment complexes that have no affordable housing and are specifically built to house the workers at the plutonium factory” — a reference to Los Alamos National Laboratory. While Bell said he looks forward to the association’s second 100 years, John Pen La Farge — Oliver La Farge’s son — said he would prefer if, in 100 years, the association isn’t needed. Now, however, John Pen La Farge said, he believes the association’s past accomplishments are under threat and Santa Feans must make their voices heard in the fight against “inappropriate buildings, bad decisions, lack of enforcement, ugly signs, too-tall structures, overly intense development and capitulation to money, self interest and greed.” “We must all be preservationists,” he said. “Do not wait upon the association to act, but act vigorously on your own ... not because the association is incapable, but because it is only with the involvement of our membership and our town’s populace that our history has been preserved." Published comments by Greg Mello:
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