Right on Time
by Paul LeSage
Title
Right on Time
Artist
Paul LeSage
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The one story Lamy depot was built for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (commonly known as the “Santa Fe”) and opened to passengers in 1909. In addition to a passenger waiting area, the historic depot today houses an eatery and tap room popular with travelers and locals alike.
The Santa Fe originally planned to run from Atchison, Kan., to Santa Fe, N.M., and then west to California. As the track building advanced into New Mexico, the civil engineers realized that the terrain around Santa Fe made this an impossible undertaking. The line was built through Lamy instead, and a spur line was built northward to Santa Fe. This since-abandoned spur, now serves as The Santa Fe Rail-Trail, a 16.8 mile bike trail. There are plans to run a scenic tourist train along the spur line in the near future.
The Amtrak Southwest Chief, stops in Lamy on runs between Los Angeles and Chicago. Passengers headed to the Santa Fe, NM, state capital, still alight at Lamy where a shuttle meets the train and transports them the remaining 18 miles.
In the early 20th century, the Santa Fe Railway replaced many of its original wood passenger structures, which had been constructed quickly and at low cost, with more substantial brick depots that symbolized the permanence of the railroad. Like many other communities along the Santa Fe lines in the Southwest and California, Lamy gained a new building that drew on regional architectural traditions.
The Spanish Mission style, featuring shady arcades, red tile roofs and stucco-clad walls, drew on the region’s Spanish colonial past to provide the railroad with a cohesive visual identity. It also became an effective marketing tool to lure residents and tourists from the East and Midwest. Constructed of brick covered in stucco, the Lamy depot features a waiting room outfitted with carved wooden beams, handsome wood benches in a Spanish Revival style and colorful decorative tiles. Common to many depots in the region, it has a covered, outdoor waiting room on the east end and a track side arcade.
Lamy’s original name was Galisteo Junction. It was later changed in honor of Jean-Baptiste Lamy, who served as the first archbishop of Santa Fe in the second half of the 19th century. Lamy played a major role in the development of the region and was the inspiration for writer Willa Cather’s novel Death Comes for the Archbishop.
The growth of the railroad industry bolstered development in Lamy, but as the industry declined, so too did the need for railroad workers – thereby leading to a shrinking population. Today, Lamy is a lovely small village set against mountains.
Uploaded
August 17th, 2021
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