2002 Most Endangered

Most Endangered Places in New Mexico 2002

• White Sands National Monument Visitor Center, Otero
  
• Carrizozo Woman's Club, Lincoln
  
• D.D. Monroe Civic Building, Union
  
• New Mexico Public Welfare Building (The Villagra Building), Santa Fe
  
• The Whittlesey House, Bernalillo
  
• Edgewood Schoolhouse, Santa Fe
  
• Glorieta Battlefield, Santa Fe
  
• Castaneda Hotel, San Miguel
  
• The Hondo Valley, Lincoln
  
• Las Cruces Downtown Main Street, Dona Ana
  

Castaneda Hotel, San Miguel

Significance: Built in 1898, La Castaneda was one of the premier luxury hotels in the Fred Harvey chain built along the Santa Fe Railway. At 25,000 square feet, the U-shaped, two story Mission Revival hotel was the largest and most architecturally significant building in Las Vegas' Railroad Avenue Historic District where it anchored East Las Vegas as a substantial trade and railroad center. It was home to Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Rider reunions and served as social hub of the community for decades. Today, the building is key to the revitalization of the Railroad District.

Threat: The lack of both renovation financing and a viable program for adaptive reuse pose the biggest threats to La Casta?eda. The years have clearly taken their toll on the building, which has seen only sporadic use over the past five decades. All of the building's systems, including the roof, an obsolete electrical system and non-existent plumbing and heating systems, need to be replaced. The current owner maintains an apartment and a small bar in the building, and has done an excellent job of maintaining and preserving the structure itself with limited resources. Her constant attention to repairs has kept water damage and further deterioration to a minimum, but the building needs immediate attention now. The Great American Station Foundation hopes to purchase La Castaneda for the centerpiece of a project designed to foster the rejuvenation of the Railroad Avenue Historic District. The building would serve as the hub of the Foundation's efforts to create a viable telecommunications business sector in Las Vegas.

UPDATE: Erich Stebe, Director of Planning at the Great American Station Foundation reports that the Station Foundation made a substantial purchase offer to the owner of the Casta?eda Hotel. Although far below the asking price of $2 million, the offer reflected the high end of the true market value of the building. In response, the owner has now raised the asking price to $3 million even though no improvements to the building have been done making it more difficult to find a buyer.