Exterior in 200, before the restoration Photo by Hope Curtis

The Garcia House
524 West Alto Street

At one time, this building was part of the neighboring Vigil House. It is named in recognition of the long ownership of both properties by the family of Vicente García, Sr. (1827-1889). His father Feliz García’s large family home was farther down Alto Street on the corner of Closson Street (formerly West Garcia Street). Vicente Garcia, like his father, was a prosperous merchant.

The HSFF purchased the house in 2000 to reunite it with the Vigil house. These rooms, together with the Vigil House, illustrate the Spanish tradition of constructing linear files of rooms around an inner courtyard. Note the thick adobe walls and their irregular undulation along the driveway. On the interior, built-in cupboards may represent former windows and doors into the patio. In the front room, the wall shared with the Vigil House sala may be a later addition. The window on the opposite wall was originally a door.

The Garcia House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and State Register of Cultural Properties. The Historic Santa Fe Foundation completed its restoration in 2002.

North room before restoration...		...and after restoration. The oak floor was beneath linoleum and vigas were concealed behind a false ceiling.