I toured Casa San Ysidro, one of New Mexico's legendary homes, on a splendid, sunny Easter Sunday. The plazuela, or courtyard, bloomed lavishly, its heirloom lilac bush wildly twisting and scenting the air, while tulips peeked through tall grasses. However, it was when I stepped inside this remarkably renovated and stunningly appointed home, now part of the Museum of Albuquerque, that I found the real action for those fascinated by Southwestern style.

As articulated here by historian Ward Alan Minge and his wife, Shirley, style transcends the assemblage and display of their museum-quality artifacts, which include Native American pottery, Hispanic tinwork, furniture, tools and textiles, and "Anglo-American" products such as photographs and pianos. Style at Casa San Ysidro is a curious but effective blend of the scholarly, the romantic, and the hyperreal, or "faked authentic." One may tour the great house focusing on any one of these design/construction attitudes, like changing the filters on a camera. This susceptibility to different interpretations makes the property uniquely compelling.

Casa San Ysidro—also known as the Gutierrez house, for its original owners—sits across Old Church Road from the Historic San Ysidro Church in Corrales. The house is open for viewing by reservation on scheduled tours.

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Copyright 2001
Hacienda Press