Old Santa Fe Trail Building Implementation of Historic Design and Preservation

Initial construction of the Old Santa Fe Trail Building Rehabilitation Project.

National Register of Historic Places

The Old Santa Fe Trail building is a National Historic Landmark and an excellent example of the revival phase of historical architecture in New Mexico. When the building opened in 1939 it stood as a tribute to the group of New Mexico youths of Spanish-American ancestry and tradition who were largely responsible for its completion. Working as a company of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the boys, with no previous experience in building construction, took active parts in every phase of the work. They helped prepare the site, and then from the excavated soil they moulded approximately 280,000 adobe bricks for the walls.

Exposed adobe bricks after the removal of the heavy Portland cement laden stucco that had been applied in the 1960s.

NPS Photo

Background:

Time and elements have taken a toll on the historic fabric of the adobe and wood on the Old Santa Fe Trail Building. In order to restore and honor this historic structure the NPS is removing and replacing nearly all of the protective stucco on the exterior building walls. The Construction Contract for the rehabilitation project was awarded in June 2018 for an amount of $4.2 million and a notice to proceed for the initial demolition was given in August 2018. The mock-up review, completed in November 2018, was the next major milestone of the project.

Mock-up Review:

The purpose of a mock-up review is to review the preliminary work product from the contractor and to approve of or modify the design as needed. Due to the significance of this historic structure a mock-up review was necessary to ensure that the treatments used will be appropriate and effective. Through extensive discussion and input from experts and stakeholders the project team was able to collectively resolve several outstanding project scope and design issues including the replacement of wooden vigas, sealant, and the color and finish of the stucco.

Viga end showing preferred treatment similar to historic method.

NPS Photo

The contractor developed an off-building mock-up of the new stucco interface and included key elements such as viga ends so that the team was able to select the preferred treatment. Ultimately, the introduction of modern sealant on the structure did not provide enough benefit given the impact to historic appearance. During the rehabilitation process the color and finishing techniques of the original 1930s stucco will be restored.