Historic Downtown Walking Tour
Take a Self guided Tour through Raton's Past.

Be sure to pick up a copy of our visitors guide for a complete map and photos of
this interesting walking tour through historic downtown Raton, New Mexico.

  1. The Santa Fe Depot is one of the few buildings remaining of Raton's once-extensive rail facilities. At the turn of the century as many as 60 trains a day traversed the Raton Pass into the busy train yard. Built in 1903 to replace an earlier frame structure, the depot was constructed in the Spanish Mission Revival style. The Original red tile spires, which once graced the roof, were removed in the 1920's, to simplify maintenance. The depot continues to be used today by Amtrak Passengers.
  2. Also an example of the Spanish Mission Revival Style, the office of the Wells Fargo Express Company was built in 1910 and is now the home of the Old Pass Gallery.
  3. The 1922 Reading Room offered railroad employees more sedate alternatives to the entertainment provided by saloons across the street.
  4. Cook's Hall was put up by Capt. George W. Cook in the late 1880's. In 1892, a brick second story was added over the original stone. It provided a public meeting hall above store fronts. The first floor display windows are divided by the original iron pilaster.
  5. Frederick Roth, a local cattleman and real estate developer, erected the Roth Building in 1893. The particularly-ornate metal facade boasts Corinthian pilasters, a bracketed cornice and a high center pediment.
  6. The Abourezk Building, built in 1906 by Frederick Roth, is adorned with garlands and two female figureheads on the upper store front. Originally a drug store, the building housed the Abourezk Grocery Store for over 30 years.
  7. Raton pioneer George Pace opened a dry goods store and post office in the Marchiondo Building in 1882. From 1911 until recently, it was occupied by the Marchiondo family as a dry goods, grocery and liquor store. Built with stone sides and brick front, it is painted bright yellow with green trim and advertises "The Golden Rule and New York Stores."
  8. The Joseph Building was formerly the site of the Gem Saloon and the Raton Realty Company. Dating from the 1890s, it retains the original pressed metal ceiling and painted cupids on the walls. The doors and windows are trimmed with a series of round brick arches.
  9. The Home Ranch Saloon, built in 1884, has a brick façade and is topped by a pediment cornice.
  10. An early occupant of the Investment Building was the office of Swastika Coal, a local operation of the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Company. This Company, the largest coal producer in the region, was a commercial enterprise of the Maxwell Land Grant Company. Formed by the grant from Mexican Governor Manuel Armijo, the Maxwell Land Grant once claimed holdings of over 1 ½ million acres. The original 320 acres for the Raton Town site were purchased from the land grant company in 1880. Constructed in 1896, the red brick building is embellished with a pressed cornice and 10 round arched windows.
  11. Across the street from Ripley Park (12) is a stone building, the Labadie House. Built in 1880, it is one of the oldest dwellings in town. For a short period, it was the site of the Raton Museum.
  12. One block north of the Downtown Raton Historic District lies Ripley Park. Created in the 1900s on land donated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, the park was named after Edward P. Ripley, then president of the company. The park's two acres of grass and trees offer a beautiful view of the mesas and mountains which surround Raton. Located in the park is a stone monument, commemorating the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail. In the 1800s settlers, frontiersman and soldiers alike followed this early Indian and Spanish route across the Raton Pass and proceeded south, through Raton.
  13. The elaborate Shuler Theater (originally Shuler Auditorium) was completed in 1915. Because this was a somewhat controversial project, at one point during its construction city officials were forced, by angry citizens, to flee to Trinidad. By the time of its opening, however, the Shuler had become a source of civic pride. The building housed the opera house, the fire station and city offices. The interior of the theater, designed in the European Rococo style, boasts near-perfect acoustics. The lobby is decorated with murals depicting local history, painted by Manville Chapman in the 1930s as WPA project. Restoration of the building began in the 1970s and continues today, with community support.
  14. The Foote Hotel building, dating from 1901, is adorned with a pair of cresting-topped bay windows in its second story. Early tenants included millinery shop and candy store.
  15. The 1905 Odd Fellows Building is a reversal of the more-typical style in Raton. With brick sides and a stone façade, it is topped by a pressed metal frieze and cornice, which bear the name of the lodge.
  16. The A.H. Carey Hardware Store was one of the first buildings erected on Second Street. A two-story stone building with a brick façade, it is a familiar style in Raton.
  17. An adobe livery stable was expanded into the Seaburg European Hotel in 1904. Owned by the flamboyant Hugo Seaburg, a Swedish immigrant and local entrepreneur, the hotel was New Mexico's largest during World War I. It is now the location of the El Portal Hotel.
  18. The Roth Block, built by Frederick Roth in 1905, features double-hung windows on the second level, which are topped by a decorated frieze and comice.
  19. The brown stucco Raton Realty Building was erected in 1928. Characterized by the red tile roof and terra cotta-trimmed windows, the building is an example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.
  20. The DiLisio Building, originally housing the International State Bank, was constructed in 1918. Joe DiLisio, one of many Italians lured to the coal camps of New Mexico, owned and operated a series of successful stores and saloons, as well as the bank. The entrance to the old bank is defined by eight Doric columns and stained glass tops the lower windows.
  21. The 1917 US Post Office, an example, an example of the neo-classic architectural style, was converted into the public library and renamed in honor of Raton n\banker Arthur Johnson. The library contained a fine collection of Southwestern art.
  22. Now the home of the International Bank, this multi-storied brick structure originally housed the Swastika Hotel. When built in 1929, the building was decorated at the roof line with the swastika, an Indian symbol of good luck. The hotel's name was changed to the Yucca Hotel during World War II, when the swastika symbol was adopted by the German Nazi Party.
  23. The Palace Hotel was erected in 1896, by the three Smith Brothers, who immigrated to the coal camps of New Mexico from Scotland. Constructed of locally quarried sandstone, it was the first three-story building in Colfax County.
  24. The 1913 Haven Hotel, built of ivory brick with green brick trim, is uniquely adorned with a pair of pineapples and three lion heads.
  25. The Coors Brewing Company erected the Coors Building as a local warehouse in 1906. The building shares a common wall with the Haven Hotel, which agreed to serve Coors beer forevermore in return for this arrangement. It is currently the home of the Raton Museum.
  26. The Raton Hotel and Corner Bar, one the many establishments on First Street offering lodging and entertainment, was built around 1910. The two-story brick structure is decorated at the roof line with a brick frieze, which extends around the corner.
  27. The Ilfeld Building, a large two-story stone structure bordering the railroad tracks on First Street, served as a warehouse and local headquarters for the Charles Ilfeld Company. Based in Las Vegas, this company once operated one of the largest general mercantile businesses in New Mexico.

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