Canyon Road wasn’t always so popular, you know. In the 90s, this was a sleepy little road that a lot of visitors didn’t even know existed. We started the Canyon Road Merchants Association to spread the word, to get the road on the map.
In those days, lots of folks would come to Santa Fe and not even realize it existed. So we got very active and did lots of advertising, a website – we even had a billboard at one point!
I think what is unique is the incredible variety of businesses. We have 100 galleries, restaurants and boutiques in only half a mile! You can find everything and anything here. Plus, the owners are close and take care of one another — that’s pretty unique.
Of course the buildings are also unique. Most galleries aren’t historical like Canyon Road. The building we are in is the old schoolhouse, built in 1906, before New Mexico was a state. Over the years, it’s also been the Boy Scout headquarters, an antique store, a foreign film theater, an apartment building, and a zoo for indigenous animals!
Anyhow, today Canyon Road is now officially on the map. In fact, I was on a cruise last month and sat next to a couple who asked where I was from and said, Oh Santa Fe! That’s really become a new art community!
Well, I have had this gallery almost 30 years, but now everyone has figured out we are here.
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Photo SFM
