Driving counterclockwise around the State Capitol from west (Don Gaspar Avenue) to east (Old Santa Fe Trail). It's one of the least descript capitol buildings, blending with old architecture rather than standing out from or exemplifying it. And it has a cool Mongolian donkey god playing a maraca. No, really, what?


Architecture of the old city, in the area of the Capitol and St. Francis Cathedral.


Officially, this is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Although it's the same colors as the adobe buildings around it, it manages to stand out - hey, Capitol, you listening? The man in front is Archbishop J. B. Lamy, who oversaw construction, headed this church from 1850 to 1888, and is buried inside. Or maybe he has actually been plated and this is really his body outside. Now you want to see it, don't you?

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