Canyon Road was an agrarian family-based community. A real neighborhood. It had a gas station and dry cleaners. And when the artists came in the 20s, and the galleries came in the 50s, it became a unique mix of people. And unlike the Plaza, it has retained residents, artists, and gallerists.
Here’s how arts districts usually come to be: A state legislature decides that a part of a city needs to be revitalized. So they envision an arts district and they go in and build one in the dilapidated area. And in three years, you have the Kansas City Arts District, or whatever.
But this grew organically. The neighborhood and the artists have always been here. And so has this incredible diversity. There’s things like the Stables here. The Vigil family own the Stables and have always been incredibly kind-hearted. They rent out the Stables — next to the Teahouse — to up and coming artists at low rents. David Vigil used to live there and ride around on a bicycle with orange hair, purple pants, and white glasses. He passed last year, but the Stables are a really important part of our community. It means young artists can still come and work here.
And then there’s the Project Tibet on Canyon. There’s a Dalai Lama presence here! The Dalai Lama personally appointed a family to manage the center and it’s thriving. You really wouldn’t expect that in an arts district. It’s that same diversity and history.
Here’s the thing – Canyon Road really isn’t very far from its past.
SUBSCRIBE TO SANTA FE MAGAZINE HERE!
Photo SFM
