Hot Topic Exhibition Explores the History of Hot Springs
Friends of History Probing the Past Friends of History is the member support group for the New Mexico History Museum. Members find camaraderie in annual events, lectures and tours designed to give them a deeper understanding of New Mexico History. The Friends’ most popular programs are their First Wednesday Lecture Series and Historical Downtown Walking Tours. Annual dues are $100 for an individual and $150 for two people. A Museum of New Mexico Foundation membership is required to join. To join or learn more: Call 505.982.6366 ext. 100 or visit museumfoundation.org/FOH
For Alicia Romero, curator of New Mexico and Nuevomexicana/o history at the New Mexico History Museum, organizing a photo exhibition around hot springs in the state provided a much-needed ahhh moment amid the stresses of the pandemic. Curative Powers: New Mexico Hot Springs opens March 18 in the museum’s Herzstein Gallery, bringing together 75 mostly historic photographs of hot springs, as well as retro maps, brochures and other promotional materials. While the photos depict ever-evolving sites of geothermal energy around New Mexico, Romero says their context provides other historical clues. “It’s fun to look at the kind of people who frequented them, and the evolution of the architecture and infrastructure around them,” she says. The exhibition also examines the role of hot springs in the development of tourism in New Mexico. Those who invested most in their development and marketing are also revealed. A hint? Romero gives a three-word clue: “Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” (as in Railway). One of the curator’s favorite photos on display depicts a late 19th century crowd, presumably just off a train, taking in the springs. “These people are just kind of sitting in the hot springs that haven’t been quite developed in their beautiful Victorian clothing,” she laughs. She adds that Montezuma Hot Springs, with its proximity to the railroad in Las Vegas, appears to have been a hotspot for ladies in long dresses with parasols, and men with hats and tails, staring inscrutably into the camera.
Hot spring between San Ysidro and Cuba, New Mexico, with the Jemez Mountains in the background, ca. 1940. Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, Neg. No. 005579.
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