Viva Las Vegas!

Viva Las Vegas! Not that flimflam in Nevada, but the charming railroad town in New Mexico.

A small city about the size of Astoria, Las Vegas, like Albany (and Astoria!), contains a treasure trove of historical architecture, both residential and commercial. Among the gems are the railroad-built Castañeda Hotel (1898), the Queen Anne-style Louis Fort house (1895), and the Carnegie Library (1904). Three Carnegie libraries were built in New Mexico; one in Raton has been demolished, the one in Roswell is vacant, but this Carnegie survives and thrives in Las Vegas. Opened in 1904, it sits in a city park in a historic residential area.

So many of our nation’s cities and towns today seem to lack a distinctive character. The Hub City, Albany, remains a distinct city, distinguished by and for its architecture. New Mexico’s Las Vegas is also a very distinctive place, and, as in Albany, its Carnegie Library is a distinguishing feature of its landscape.