Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-04-11
BIG BUILDING
TO Be ERECTED
NEXT TO PALACE
"CathedraI of the Desert"
viii Be a Monument to En-
terpriSe of Santa Fe and
History Of State,


| Santa lie, April l0.--"The Cathed-
raj Of The Desert" will be erected at
| the northwest corner of the plaza, or
/ rather at the junction of Palace and
/ Lincoln avenues, adjoining the Pal
ace OF. the Governors. for the two
! buildings are to he connected with an
| Underground passage, so that the
| same set of caretakers and officers
| can administer both structures. This
was the decision of the board of re-
| gents of the New Mexico Museum to-
! day, which finds that this is the only
| site that Will answer the purpose.
| The site is owned by the city board
! Of education and had been recon-
mended as his first choice for the
| proposed new postoffice and federal
| building by the inspector who investi-
gated various sites The price placed
on il is $4,000. The inspector had
recommended for second choice, the
old Exchange hotel or fonda, on the
! opposite corner of the plaza. Thomas
| DoHn, proprietor of the Monte2uma
hotel, is figuring on this site for a
modern hotel building and expects to
organize "A company that will put a
S125, 000 structure there There are
other cities available for the postOf-
flee, one opposite the cathedral and
sanitarium, mpressing the inspector
very much and which he would have
recommended for first choice, had he
been able to secure a satisfactory fig
IRE on two pieces of adjoining prop
ertN. There Is also a site on San
Francisco street, right in the business
district, and another adjoining the
Hotel de Vargas an Washington ave
nue., which are available for pOstuf-
flee but not suited for the Cathedral
of the Desert a replica of the Acoma
mission church and OF the New Mex
leo building at San Diego.
Money Appropriated.
The legislature has appropriated
$40. 900 toward the building, private
donors outside of Santa Fe will give
another $50, 5000; the exhibits at San
Diego and all the available material
and furniture and furnishings of the
New Mexico building are granted the
museum by the legislature, so that
the erection of the building means an
immediate expenditure of 100000
and the construction of a monument
TO the franciscan martyrs and Span
ish conquerOrs that its to be as i'm
perishable as it will be notable. All
that the citizens of Santa Re are
asked to furnish is a site and as the
only suitable and available site is
owned by the board of education, the
citizens will in buying the site for the
cathedral merely take money out of
one pocket and put ii into another.
To the schools it will mean an adj
ditional educational facility, for the
cathedral will have a splendid audi
torium The need for which is much
felt by the schools. In 1t they could
hold their commencement exercises,
their entertainments, give lectures,
and hold drills. Many of the modern
schools now have their museums and
this would give the public schools a
practical museum an art gallery ana
other facilities that would mean as
much to them as a new $4,000 public
school building
Unless this site is furnished, the
Cathedral of the Desert" art gallery,
auditorium museum, etc, Will re-
main a dream for it will not be built
as the legislative grant and the pri-
Vate gifts are made conditional upon
a site being furnished satisfactory to !
the agents Of the New Mexico mu-
seum. As soon as the site is decided, r!
preparations will begin for the actual |
CONSTITUTION WI ~ INV NAPNi4uit"'N /
of 500, 900 at this time for building |
operations meaning a much desired |
impetus to local business.
There is no likelihood of any work
being actually done on new federal |
and postoffice building for another |
six years and by that time business |
may have so changed as
to make another site desirable The |
board of education at present gets
some revenue out of the old barracks |
on the site at present but is also put |
to considerable expense in making re-
pairs and changes for tenants, while !
the structure itself is unsightly.