Among La fonda's guests was Capt. William Becknell, who arrived at the hotel on the Plaza in 1821 at the end of a successful trading expedition from Missouri to Santa Fe, opening the Santa Fe Trail.
Today La Fonda is known for its award-winning pueblo style Spanish architecture and decor with thick wooden beams, latilla ceilings, carved corbels, handcrafted chandeliers, tin and copper light fixtures and a myriad of other details created by local artisans.
The lobby, hallways and meeting rooms are filled with paintings, carvings, photos and other works of art that create a unique Santa Fe ambiance.
There was a hotel staff artist, Ernest J. Martinez. Ernest started working at the La Fonda in 1954 and over the past 50 years has painted all of the 400 plus windows in the restaurant, plus dozens more windows and French doors as well as murals, furniture and tile murals.
Front Desk area, picture taken from the brochure.
Dining Room, also taken from the brochure. Note the painted glass panes and mural.
This is one of many panes of glass that Ernest painted over a 50 year period.
Paintings from the 1930's by Paul Lantz depicting life in a Mexican village are found throughout the hotel. I used the brochure for the first mural. There are several different angles of this mural.
These is the murals from the dining room.
This painting is of Kit Carson and hangs in the main lobby.
Wood carvings by Jonathan Kendall are found throughout the hotel. We had one in our room ... I failed to get its picture ... I meant to take it ... oops. This one was in the lobby.
This is an 18th-century Bolivian bulto of Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion and a New Mexican bulto, circa 1820.
These were some of the lights throughout the hotel. They were really cool.