Palace of the Governors

Spanish colonial authorities established Santa Fe as the capital of the Nuevo México province in 1610 — making it the second-oldest continuously-inhabited European-established settlement in the present-day United States, behind only St. Augustine, Florida. The Palace was constructed in the same year as the founding, originally as both a government building and a fortified residence for the Spanish governor. The building was constructed in the traditional adobe building style used throughout colonial New Mexico — sun-dried adobe brick walls several feet thick, viga-and-latilla ceilings, packed earth floors, and a hidden interior placita courtyard.

The Palace's location on the north side of the Plaza was strategically chosen. The Plaza itself functioned as the colonial military and civic center, and the Palace's position allowed the governor to observe and oversee both military activities and the daily commercial life of the town. The original building extended the full length of the Plaza's north side and was substantially larger than the structure visitors see today — portions of the original Palace were demolished and rebuilt across the colonial and territorial periods.

Spanish governors used the Palace through the 17th century until the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The Revolt, organized by Pueblo religious and political leaders in response to nearly a century of Spanish colonial oppression, expelled Spanish forces from New Mexico for twelve years. Pueblo forces occupied Santa Fe and the Palace itself during that period, modifying the building's interior to serve Pueblo religious and civic needs. Spanish forces reconquered the territory in 1692, retook the Palace, and resumed colonial governance from the building through the remainder of the colonial period.

Mexican independence from Spain in 1821 ended Spanish colonial rule and Mexican governors took over the Palace. The Mexican period was relatively brief (1821 to 1846) but historically significant — the opening of the Santa Fe Trail in 1821 transformed Santa Fe into a major commercial entrepôt between the United States and northern Mexico, and the Palace served as the official customs and government building for the trade. The Plaza directly in front of the Palace became the formal terminus of the Santa Fe Trail, where caravans of trade goods arrived after the long journey from Missouri.

The United States annexed New Mexico following the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), and American territorial governors took over the Palace. The territorial period lasted more than six decades, during which the Palace served as the official residence and offices of a succession of American governors. Lew Wallace — the territorial governor from 1878 to 1881 and the author of the bestselling novel Ben-Hur — famously completed his novel while living in the Palace, writing in the building's gubernatorial offices during evenings after his official duties.

New Mexico achieved statehood in 1912. The Palace was converted to museum use beginning in 1909 (anticipating statehood) under the leadership of archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett, who established the institution as both a history museum and the headquarters of the new Museum of New Mexico system. The Palace has continuously operated as a museum since that date and is now the flagship building of the New Mexico History Museum, which expanded into a substantially larger adjacent building in 2009.

The single most photographed and most frequently-engaged feature of the Palace is the daily Native artisan market that operates under the building's long covered portal facing the Plaza. The market is officially the Native American Vendors Program of the Museum of New Mexico, and it has operated under the portal in essentially its current form since the early 20th century. The program is one of the most prestigious Native artisan venues in the United States — vendors must be enrolled members of federally-recognized New Mexico tribes (or related Pueblos), all work sold under the portal must be the vendor's own handmade work, and the program is actively curated by Museum of New Mexico staff who vet vendors for authenticity and quality.

The vendors offer Pueblo silver and turquoise jewelry, traditional and contemporary Pueblo pottery, weavings, beadwork, fetish carvings, and various other handmade Native art forms. Prices reflect the work being authentic, handmade, and from vetted Native artists — small pieces of jewelry start around $40-$60 and substantial necklaces, bracelets, and pots can reach the low five figures. Most vendors are members of the nineteen Pueblo nations of New Mexico (including Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and others) plus some Navajo and Apache representation.

The market operates daily — typically from morning through late afternoon, with the specific hours varying by vendor and season. Most vendors are present from around 9am through 4pm, with peak presence between 11am and 2pm. Bargaining is generally not expected at the portal market — the prices reflect serious artisan work and the curation process — though vendors will sometimes adjust prices for serious buyers purchasing multiple items. The market is one of the most direct ways for visitors to engage with contemporary Pueblo and Native American artists in New Mexico, and the purchases support living artists rather than going through gallery commissions.

The Palace's interior is now organized as a chronological history museum covering New Mexico from the pre-contact Pueblo period through the present day. The exhibits include archaeological artifacts from pre-contact Pueblo culture, Spanish colonial documents and material culture, items from the Mexican period, Santa Fe Trail trade goods and merchant records, territorial-era furnishings (some of which were used during the actual territorial governors' tenures in the building), and 20th-century New Mexico history including statehood, the World War II Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, and contemporary New Mexico cultural history.

The building itself is part of the exhibit. Visitors can walk through the original adobe-walled rooms that served as governors' offices and residences, see the viga-and-latilla ceiling construction characteristic of New Mexico colonial architecture, and observe the multiple architectural layers from different historical periods. The interior courtyard (placita) is itself a centuries-old feature and is sometimes accessible to visitors depending on programming.

The Palace connects via interior passages to the larger New Mexico History Museum building (which opened in 2009 immediately behind the Palace). The full museum experience generally combines the Palace itself with the adjacent New Mexico History Museum, which houses larger temporary exhibits, more extensive permanent galleries on specific themes, an auditorium for lectures and films, and the museum's library and archive. The $12 admission to the Palace includes access to the full New Mexico History Museum, and most visitors combine both buildings into a single 90-minute to two-hour visit.

The Palace and the New Mexico History Museum are open daily from 10am to 5pm. Admission is $12 for adults, with discounts for seniors, students, and military, and free admission for children 16 and under. New Mexico residents receive free admission on Sundays. The New Mexico Culture Pass ($30, available at the museum and at the Santa Fe Visitor Center) provides admission to the Palace and 14 other New Mexico state museums and historic sites over 12 months — generally the most economical option for visitors planning to see multiple Santa Fe state museums.

The Palace is the central anchor of the canonical Santa Fe Plaza morning. The standard plan: arrive at the Plaza by 10am, browse the Native artisan market under the portal (30-45 minutes), enter the Palace at 10:30 or 11am for the museum exhibits (60-90 minutes), continue to the adjacent New Mexico History Museum (45-60 minutes), and break for lunch at a Plaza-area restaurant around 1pm. This sequence covers the most historically dense morning available in Santa Fe.

For travelers continuing to Canyon Road in the afternoon and dinner at The Shed in the evening, the Palace morning is the natural opening sequence. For Route 66 travelers on tight schedules, the Palace plus the Native artisan market combination is the minimum-viable Santa Fe historical experience and can be completed in 90 minutes if time is genuinely tight.