History, Part 2
Rosario Chapel
This page is under construction.
ACCORDING TO LEGEND, as Diego de Vargas and his soldiers marched on Santa Fe in 1692 to reconquer it from the Puebloans, they paused on the outskirts and prayed for assistance to Saint Mary, the mother of Jesus. Later, after their victory, De Vargas returned to the place where he had prayed and built a simple chapel of branches to thank her.
We have no proof that the story is true, but it is certain that approximately 115 years later, when the people of Santa Fe built the sturdy adobe structure that we nowadays call Rosario Chapel, they thought they were replacing the one built by De Vargas. A century after that, the archdiocese added a new wing to the building that more than doubled its size. Since then, another century has passed. If the legend is true, the building’s history goes back more than 300 years. Even if the legend is false, the building is the oldest structure in our neighborhood.
Incidentally, unit 2 of our condominium used to be the closest house to Rosario Chapel. It’s about 360 feet away. But a few years ago St. Catherine’s put up a pre-fab house for its caretaker which is closer still.
(To be continued. This page is under construction.)
Photo by Dana B. Chase, 1890? The original building before the 1915 addition. NMDC negative number 056976.
Photo by Jesse L. Nusbaum, 1911. NMDC negative number 016743.
Photographer unknown, 1915. NMDC negative number 010071.
Photographer unknown, 1915. NMDC negative number 010072.
Photo by Mark Treib, 1986, from his book.▼ Original building on left; modern addition on right.
Photo by Mark Treib, 1986, from his book.▼ Mark Treib’s caption for this photo: “The apse of the old structure, today the eastern transept, shows the original reredos, although it lacks religious images.”
Photo by Paul Logsdon, 1980s, looking northeast.
Plan by Mark Treib and assistants, 1986–87, from his book.▼ I’ve colored the original building blue and the 1915 addition red. Toggle colors.
Photo by Mark Treib, 1986, from his book.▼ Mark Treib’s caption:
“The early-nineteenth-century chapel now serves as the sanctuary and
transepts of the renovated structure. The
windows were probably cut around 1914 to address the
new axis created at the time of renovation.”
Notes
Mark Treib’s book: Sanctuaries of Spanish New Mexico. The entire book can be read online for free at the publisher’s website.
Links
On Wikipedia.
Treib is professor emeritus of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. Excerpted from the book Sanctuaries of Spanish New Mexico. The entire book can be read online for free at the publisher’s website.
Includes history and map.
Compiled and published by Santa Fe County Genealogical Society
This page was first published on March 16, 2022 and last republished on December 13, 2024.