Master Plan Update: Enhanced Entry and Acequia Underway

Construction for the El Zaguán Master Plan is underway! It is an exciting time at Historic Santa Fe Foundation, as years of planning and dreaming begin to manifest themselves physically. There is much still to be done, but at this point in the process, it feels good to savor the initial progress.

In January of 2022, a long anticipated improvement to our front entry was begun. For the stretch at our turquoise gates, where the courtyard wall is plastered with the traditional mud over its adobe structure, the earthen sidewalk was replaced with dark colored bricks. This was also extended into the courtyard, replacing the uneven flagstone paving leading to the zaguán and smoothing out a too-steep slope leading in right at the gates (a byproduct of raising the street level when it was paved). Drainage had long been an issue, with that slope washing mud from the sidewalk into the too-small drain inside the courtyard so that water ponded even in slight rainstorms, and this to has been addressed with an enlarged French drain funneling water away below ground to the garden where it will benefit plantings. We think the contractor, Sunsilk Landscaping, did a great job not only making it more inviting and safer but also fitting the changes in with the historic surroundings.

Hot on the heels of the success of the brick installation, planning for one of the most exciting educational enhancements of the Master Plan came together. This is the revival of the historic acequia which was the life force of the property during the time that it was an active farm. The Canyon Road Community Ditch fed the farms along the full length of what is now the bustling downtown city street, and an attentive viewer can see hints of it in the landscape at several points. It is, however, fully inactive, and so our acequia will be contained to the short section along the east edge of the garden, recirculating in front of the portal.

The project, which was designed by Surroundings Studios and is being constructed by Oasis Aquatics, is reusing every possible piece of stone lining the historic path. When it is completed, a small lock gate, as is used in still active acequias, will allow HSFF staff and docents to demonstrate how the system works to flood irrigate fields and gardens. In conjunction with the impending interpretive space inside, this will greatly add to the Foundation’s resources to enact its educational mission. Stay tuned for more exciting updates as The El Zaguán Master Plan becomes reality.