Beyond The MetroABQ: The Historic Trolley Building Transformed at NM Highlands University (NMHU)
A short & very scenic two-hour drive to Las Vegas New Mexico is always an incredible daytrip.
At NM Highlands University, in astonishingly historic Las Vegas New Mexico--more places on the National Register of Historic Places than any other city)--the old McCaffrey Trolley Building was retrofitted, & transformed into the Media Arts & Technology Department. It's a fantastic mix of old & new: they integrated architectural steel elements into an historic stone & stone-brick building.
Immediately below is a 7' steel map of the city of Las Vegas that adorns the outside of the trolley building, complete with railroad tracks & highway on-ramps...the McCaffrey Trolley Bldg is on there too. Images of the outside & inside of the trolley building are below. The waiting room & trolley spaces are now labs, classrooms, lecture halls, galleries & student study areas. The top image is a an example of some of the work being created in the labs.
I was lucky to be able to tour the building with a docent present, for the Places with a Past: Rejuvenation of Las Vegas (New Mexico) Historic Homes & Buildings Tour. Other historic places included La Castaeda Fred Harvey Hotel, The Rawlins Building, the Diamond Street Compound & a 114 year old three-story Victorian home that was for sale.
