Colorado Time-Table

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A decades-old central New Mexico landmark will soon experience a rebirth, thanks to $1 million of federal grant money and a new rail stop. U.S. Economic Development Administration funds are earmarked for the rebuild of the former Santo Domingo Trading Post, built in the 1920s on the 3,000-resident pueblo now known as Tewa, next to the Raton Line of the former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The popular post was for years a familiar sight to area tourists and passengers on the Super Chief and other passing streamliners then connecting Chicago with Los Angeles. The building closed in 1995 and was devastated by fire six years later. The roofless adobe shell, along with buildings next door, slowly braved years of harsh New Mexico weather and neglect. Pueblo leaders want the post, including a new restaurant, to once again become a showcase for sought-after turquoise and silver jewelry, distinctive pottery and souvenirs long-made by pueblo artisans. A staff of 30 is planned. Kewa Governor Tony Tortalita welcomed the rebuild, saying “I am happy and proud to see the revitalization of the trading post taking place after many years. The trading post has been an icon of our history and now will stand as a testament to our future as we plan to use this as an avenue to showcase our culture and tradition through arts and crafts.” Last March the New Mexico Rail Runner Express opened a new commuter platform across the highway from the ruins, fueling speculation that the nearby derelict trading post might someday come back to life. Sandoval County has extended a new, area bus line connecting the depot, and soon the modernized trading post, with other nearby Rio Grande Valley pueblos and towns. The unexpectedly rapid project funding will now considerably shorten the time until opening day. Leaders also envision the re-use of a nearby, vacant, railside industrial building formerly used as a sawmill, then as a manufactured housing assembly plant. The post has been on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties since 1997 and the National Register of Historic Properties since 1998.

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