Beautiful New Mexico

– is represented well via Las Vegas! –
Las vegas New Mexico is a unique City in New Mexico. Situated in a wonderful Valley in the San Miguel County, this city has both Victorian and Soanbsih Influences throughout it’s architecture. It is well known that part of the diversity of the city is due to the Train that ran through it making it a verypopular desitantion for travelers in the early part of the century. From Old Town to Storrie lake or the National Park..You will find a surpringly Lot to do in Vegas, New Mexico!

About Las Vegas,NM

Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate towns, West Las Vegas (“Old Town”) and East Las Vegas (“New Town”), divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival, school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Miguel County[1].

Las Vegas is the home of New Mexico Highlands University and Luna Community College. The United World College in nearby Montezuma, New Mexico is a two-year international high school and one of the venues used by the International Baccalaureate Program for teacher training in the United States.
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Some History of Las Vegas NM –

Las Vegas was established in 1835 after a group of settlers received a land grant from the Mexican government. The town was laid out in the traditional Spanish Colonial style, with a central plaza surrounded by buildings which could serve as fortifications in case of attack. Las Vegas soon prospered as a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. During the Mexican-American War in 1846, Stephen W. Kearny delivered an address at the Plaza of Las Vegas claiming New Mexico for the United States.

When the railroad arrived in 1880 it set up shop one mile east of the Plaza, creating a separate, rival New Town (as in Albuquerque). During the railroad era Las Vegas boomed, quickly becoming one of the largest cities in the American southwest. Turn-of-the-century Las Vegas featured all the modern amenities, including an electric street railway, the “Duncan Opera House” at the NE corner of 6th Street and Douglas Avenue, a Carnegie library, a major Harvey House hotel, and the New Mexico Normal School (now NMHU). Since the decline of the railroad began in the 1950s the city’s population has remained relatively constant. Although the two towns have been combined, two separate school districts remain. (1)

Libraries and Museums

The New Mexico Highlands University is home to the Thomas C. Donnelly Library, established in 1996. It supports the teaching, research and community activities of New Mexico Highlands University. It acquires, organizes, preserves and provides access to pertinent information and scholarly materials for curricular needs, intellectual pursuits and personal enrichment of its clientele. It promotes programs and services that emphasize the diversity of the university’s multicultural community and heritage. An addition increased the square footage from 23,700 to 53,500 and now holds a book collection of almost 200,000 volumes. [3]

The Carnegie Library, established in 1904, is the first and only surviving Carnegie Library in New Mexico. Built from a $10,000 donation from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, its Neo-Classical Revival architecture resembes Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The library occupies an entire city block, bordered by Victorian-style homes and buildings.

The City of Las Vegas Museum & Rough Rider Memorial on Grand Avenue, dedicated in 1940, was first established by the decision of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders regiment (the first Volunteer Cavalry Regiment of the Spanish-American War), who named Las Vegas their official reunion home. Their first reunion was held in Las Vegas, June 1899.

The museum, free and open to the public, houses a memorial collection of artifacts, archives and photographs from the Rough Riders and mementos in relation to the 1898 Cuban Campaign of the Spanish-American War, with information on over 200 members of the original regiment, RRR Association documents, etc. The museum illuminates the history of Las Vegas, its connection to the Rough Riders, the Santa Fe Trail and the development of New Mexico. It features collections of local Native American pottery, household items, costumes, ranching and farming equipment, agricultural and mercantile operations, and home life.

Housed in a 1940 Works in Progress Administration funded building, the museum is built of stone, with Pueblo Revival nuances. [4]

Geography

Las Vegas is located at [show location on an interactive map] 35°35′49″N, 105°13′21″W (35.597031, -105.222589)[2]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.5 square miles (19.5 km²), all of it land.

Las Vegas is 65 miles due east of Santa Fe on Interstate 25, the highway that connects Santa Fe with Albuquerque.

Demographics

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 14,565 people, 5,588 households, and 3,559 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,938.2 people per square mile (748.8/km²). There were 6,366 housing units at an average density of 847.1/sq mi (327.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 54.21% White, 0.99% African American, 1.96% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 37.19% from other races, and 4.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 82.94% of the population.

There were 5,588 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were married couples living together, 21.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,214, and the median income for a family was $29,797. Males had a median income of $26,319 versus $21,731 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,619 as compared to $21,587 nationally as noted in the 2000 Census. About 24.3% of families and 27.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.7% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over. (1)

Architecture

Las Vegas is home to a very large number of historic structures (mostly railroad-era houses and commercial buildings), with over 900 listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although many buildings are in varying states of deterioration, others have been restored or are awaiting restoration. Some of the city’s notable buildings include:

* Dr. H.J. Mueller House, 1881 example of Victorian eclecticism with unusual octagonal tower
* Plaza Hotel, 1881, site of the first reunion of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in 1899
* Old City Hall, New Mexico’s first municipal building, completed in 1892
* Louis Fort House, Queen Anne house on Carnegie Park, built in 1895
* Masonic Temple, Richardsonian Romanesque building erected in 1895
* La Castaneda Hotel, mission-style Harvey House built in 1898
* Carnegie Library, built in 1903 at the center of Carnegie Park and modeled after Monticello

(1)This information made possible via wikipedia
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