2003 Most Endangered

Most Endangered Places in New Mexico 2003

• The Waters of New Mexico, Statewide
  
• St. Vrain Mill, Mora County
  
• The Gutierrez-Hubbell House, Bernalillo
  
• Chaco Culture National Historical Park, San Juan County
  
• La Bajada Mesa and Escarpment, Santa Fe
  
• New Mexico's Historic Earthen Architectural Tradition, Statewide
  
• Melvin W. Mills House, Colfax
  
• Tucumcari Metropolitan Park — 5 Mile Park, Quay
  
• New Mexico's Greater Otero Mesa Area, Otero
  
• Historic Roadside Markers of New Mexic, Statewide
  

Tucumcari Metropolitan Park — 5 Mile Park, Quay

Located west of Tucumcari on old Route 66.

Significance: The park and bathhouse are a part of Tucumcari's unique cultural history; they represent the New Deal era. The building and pool were a part the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) projects completed in 1940. The CCC supplied the manpower; the architect for the bathhouse was Trent Thomas, Senior Foreman Architect of Emergency Conservation Work for the National Park Service. The Spanish-Pueblo Revival style includes modest exposed vigas, corbels, and lintels that were adapted from the same design as La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, which Trent Thomas designed. The bathhouse is a one-story building with concrete foundation, brown stucco over adobe walls and a flat asphalt roof. Flagstone coves the portal floor as well as the interior reception room. The building, pool and park are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Threat: The bathhouse north wall is almost totally deteriorated and on the verge of collapse. The interior is infested with termites and exposed beams are also in danger of collapsing.