Editor’s Note: Strolling Our Streets is a continuing series focusing on local history and ambience during one-mile ambles in neighborhoods around the Mesilla Valley.
MESILLA - It’s a Mesilla gathering place, a popular
parade route and the scene of a lot of activity for the colorful town that is
best known for its historic plaza.
Avenida de Mesilla is the town’s “other Main Street.”
The Mesilla Plaza is the place that’s notorious for
gunslingers and ghosts, stagecoach stops, political rallies and gatherings for
transitions in a place that has been home to ancient Mansos, Pueblo people and Apaches,
Spanish Conquistadors and Mexican Settlers. The 1854 Gadsden Purchase made
Mesilla part of the United States, where it has remained except for a brief
period in 1861-62 when it was the occupied capital of the Confederate Arizona
Territory.
“After the Battle of Glorieta in March of 1862, being
short of supplies, the Confederate troops retreated to Texas. This ended
the Civil War conflict in New Mexico,” according to oldmesilla,org.
All those indigenous peoples, cowpokes, stagecoach drivers,
modern presidential candidates, and, of course, Billy the Kid, had to find a
way into the now-legendary plaza, and chances are many of them set foot (human
or horse), wagon wheels or tires on what is now Avenida de Mesilla, also known as
New Mexico Highway 28.
“All those people would have had to traverse that way when it
used to be the route that ran right next to the Rio Grande River, before it
moved three miles to the west and became nothing but a mud bog most of the
time,” said Preciliana Sandoval of La Morena Tours, a native Mesillera
(resident of Mesilla) artist and educator who has been leading tourists around
the her home territory for decades.
Spring is a perfect time to stroll the route yourself, and
you may be surprised at all that’s happening along a few bustling blocks.
In a less than one-mile stretch between Calle de Mercado and
West University Avenue, you’ll find little shopping plazas, including two with
outdoor market areas that will put you in mind of south-of-the-border emporiums:
Ristraman Chile, 2531 Avenida de Mesilla, and Casa Bonita, 1900 Avenida de
Mesilla. There are two schools: Las Cruces Academy and Rio Grande Preparatory Institute,
and some of the territory’s most popular restaurants and watering holes,
including Palacio Bar (popular with poets and open mic aficionados), a brewery
(Spotted Dog) and a winery and restaurant (St. Clair’s).
A good place to start your walk is right across the street
from St. Clair’s in the picturesque Calle de Mercado area, where you’ll find a
complex of buildings that look old, but aren’t. The Boldt family commissioned structures
reflecting characteristic New Mexico architectural styles by renowned artist
and sculptor Kelley Hestir, who created the moving sculpture of a trio of
Bataan Death March soldiers in Las Cruces Veterans Memorial Park.
Now, the complex includes more recent additions that
sometimes unite for joint art openings: Adobe Patio Gallery, the fanciful
RokokoArt Gallery and Las Cruces Academy, at the site of what was once Preston
Contemporary Art.
Foodies can also start a tour that begins Paisano’s, known
for their selection of savory molé sauces. Other places to linger for coffee, a
snack or meals (sometimes with outside tables) include The Bean, Thai Delight,
Café de Mesilla, NM Grille & Bar in Hotel Mesilla (formerly Meson de
Mesilla), Chala’s Wood Fire Grill, and Andele! Opening soon, according to
signs, will be Salud! De Mesilla next to LuLu, 1800 Avenida de Mesilla.
Keep an eye out for entertaining surprises. You won’t find
anything to eat at the Old Tortilla Factory, at the corner of Calle Parian,
which houses art and crafts shops including the Tres Manos Weaving Studio. But,
according to paranormal investigators, you might encounter the ghosts of those
who once worked at the factory. (Not to be confused with the ghosts of
Christmas Past, presumable more likely to hang out across the street at ‘Tis
the Season, which offers holiday décor all-year around.)
As you amble, try to find time to peek in the window of
Valley Plumbing, 2800 Avenida de Mesilla, to see vintage models of some of
Mesilla’s most famous landmarks, including the plaza gazebo and San Albino
Basilica, all handmade by Pedro Peña.
If you feel like stopping along the way, you can pause at
benches and enjoy the fountain at a little park near Andele!
“It’s Veteranos Park, honoring veterans from Vietnam on,”
Sandoval said.
Just before you reach University Avenue, you’ll find benches,
picnic tables, a swing set and a touching tribute “to those who passed away
while serving the town of Mesilla” at Parque Commemorativo.
Newcomers, visitors and natives or long- time residents all
might learn something new with a visit to Mesilla Town Hall and J. Paul Taylor
Visitors Center, 2231 Avenida de Mesilla. It features historical displays and
free magazines and pamphlets about attractions in Mesilla and throughout the
region. For information, visit the center, mesillanm.gov or oldmesilla.org.
S. Derrickson Moore may be
reached at 575-541-5450, dmoore@lcsun-news.com or @derricksonmoore on Twitter.
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