A unique feature of Las Vegas' architectural heritage is a remarkable group of stone residences and commercial buildings (also churches and schools) still proudly intact after nearly a century of use. The stone buildings of Las Vegas are intriguing, not only for their craftsmanship and diverse styles, but also as reflections of their builders and owners. The survival of monuments in a state known for its adobe architecture is yet another great jewel in Las Vegas' glittering architectural crown.
Before the arrival of the A T & SF railroad in 1879, Our Lady of Sorrows Church located on the hill above the Old Town Plaza) was Las Vegas' greatest achievement in stone construction. The railroad trade, however, ushered in wealth, "modern" materials, and new attitudes towards architecture on the New Mexican frontier. Fortunes were made overnight by astute mercantilers and entrepreneurs as Las Vegas suddenly became the premier shipping terminus in the New Mexico Territory in 1879. The nouveau riche looked with disdain upon the humble, but practical, adobe houses of the indigenous population and yearned for the status and stability of brick and stone.
Incredibly enough, these wealthy merchants were able to lure numerous stone cutters, including an immigrant Italian stone mason family, the Pettine brothers, to Las Vegas to fashion impressive residences and other structures. According to architectural historian Chris Wilson, the heyday of Las Vegas stone construction was roughly from 1880 to 1898. The 1895 city directory listed thirteen stone workers, nine stone masons, and four stone cutters.
Collectively, the stone buildings of Las Vegas represent the eclecticism and variety favored by the Victorian era. Such ornate and (for New Mexico) exotic styles as the Queen Anne, Romanesque, Richardsonian Romanesque, Eastlake, Italian Villa, Italianate, and Folk Renaissance Revival (not to forget Classic and Free Classic) can all be found fashioned of stone on Las Vegas streets. Excellent examples of rubble masonry (randomly fit) and ashlar masonry (precision cut and finished) abound in Las Vegas, representing a high level of technical and artistic virtuosity.
Much of the sandstone used locally was quarried near the railroad tracks between Tecolote and Romeroville, about four miles south of Las Vegas. Three common shades of stone including light-brown, reddish-brown, and purplish-brown were used, often in contrasting designs, to achieve pleasing pictorial effects. Another sedimentary stone, a blue-gray shale, was also used for foundations, and in a few examples, entire houses.
Besides entire structures, the interested observer will find attractive stone details, such as lintels, walls, and stairs scattered throughout Las Vegas. In fact, this brochure includes only a representative sampling of Las Vegas' stone riches. Other significant stone buildings are included in other Las Vegas Architectural Walking Tours. These buildings are: The First National Bank Building (now West Las Vegas Schools Administration), Ilfeld Company Headquarters, and the Stern and Nahn Building from the Plaza/Bridge Street Walking Tour; and the Bank of Las Vegas, Masonic Temple, Stone Lion, and City Hall from the Douglas/Sixth Street Walking Tour.
This page is a copy of the brochure "Stone Architecture of Las Vegas", a project of the Citizens' Committee for Historic Preservation, Las Vegas, New Mexico. The brochure was funded in part through the City of Las Vegas, the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, and The National Park Service, Certified Local Government program.
Drawings and text by Elmo Baca
The following buildings are on this tour:
