Moments of Enchantment; 88; Las Vegas, New Mexico

Moments of Enchantment brought to you by the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs and 770 K-O-B Radio. The year 1879 brought the Etchison Topeka and the Santa Fe to Las Vegas, New Mexico, and with the railroad came prosperity. In no time, the city was the ranching center of the state, and fortunes and gold, copper, and marble were to be made in the mines. Las Vegas was booming, but it was soon to go bust. More? In a moment. The sounds of celebration were often to be heard in Las Vegas saloons in the late 1800s. In its heyday, the city was nicknamed the Land of Sun, Silence, and Adobe. Though there was plenty of sun and Adobe, Las Vegas was hardly silent. The community supported an opera house, several social and literary clubs, an orchestra, and a theater. As words spread about the therapeutic nature of the local hot springs, wealthy patrons from around the world came to consider Las Vegas a resort town.

There were visits by many illustrious tourists, and vigilantes were still needed to protect the town from outlaws. By 1915, prosperity itself had gotten out of hand. The railroad went on strike. The opera closed its doors, and tourists stopped coming to Las Vegas. For nearly 60 years, the city looked like a ghost town, and then in the early 1980s, the opening of the United World College near Las Vegas in Monizuma, and the reestablishment of the Plaza Hotel, where Wild West Sheriff Pat Garrett is said to have stayed years ago, Las Vegas rose again. To explore New Mexico history and culture, visit the New Mexico State Library. Moments of Enchantment brought to you by the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs. For Moments of Enchantment, I am David Griffith.