page_title: San Felipe de Neri Church
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: San Felipe de Neri Church / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: San Felipe de Neri Church in the Old Town district in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
context_page_description: San Felipe de Neri Church is a historic Catholic church located on the north side of Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Built in 1793, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city and the only building in Old Town proven to date to the Spanish colonial period. The church is listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places and has remained in continuous use for over 200 years.
  San Felipe de Neri replaced an older church, dating to the founding of Albuquerque in 1706, which collapsed in the winter of 1792–3. From its founding until 1817, church was run by Franciscan missionaries. During the Victorian era, under the influence of Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, the church was remodeled with Gothic Revival elements, including bell towers, a new pitched roof, and interior decorations, to give it a more European appearance. This combination of elements from different periods and traditions makes the church notable architecturally as well as historically.
context_section_description: San Felipe de Neri is cruciform in plan with thick adobe walls, wooden vigas, and carved corbels dating to the original 18th century construction. Like most colonial churches in New Mexico, it uses the aisleless (single-nave) plan with a polygonal apse. The apse, transepts, and crossing have a raised ceiling, and there is a low choir loft over the main entrance. The church is notable for its fusion of elements from different periods, with a "skin" of Victorian embellishments applied to the more traditional adobe forms. The exterior features twin bell towers, added around 1861, which show a vernacular adaptation of the Gothic Revival style using local materials. Interior details from the same period include the altar and pulpit, which are constructed from wood painted to look like marble, tongue-and-groove wainscoting, and wooden cabinetry in the sacristy. The pressed tin ceiling was added in 1916.
caption: The church interior in 2008
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