Sir Barken Hyena writes:
On a recent road trip that may or may not have included scouting candidates for the new Lady Barken, I detoured a bit to take in Silver City, New Mexico. Though not far over the border from Arizona, you know you are in New Mexico from the architecture alone. The landscape is beautiful high grassland, framed by piney mountains and cut by rocky canyons. It’s a worked land too, where ranches and prosperous little towns abound, unlike the Arizona side which is mostly poverty stricken Apache reservation land.
Silver City itself escapes the fate of the boutiqued resort town, common for small towns in the Southwest and Rockies, simply by being too far from ski slopes, or lakes and beaches. It’s prime asset is incredible air, space, light, and peace and quiet. Not even the students at Western New Mexico University are rowdy, though the college provides a nice Spanish Colonial tower to offset this scenic little town. Even the remains of the tailing pile from silver mining is remote and unseen from town. Here’s a sampling of the sights:
Blowhard, Esq.
Callowman
Sherbrooke
Eddie Pensier
Enzo Nakamura
Epaminondas
Fabrizio del Wrongo
Fenster
Brundle Guy
Glynn Marshes
Paleo Retiree
Atypical Neurotic
Question Lady
Sax von Stroheim
Sir Barken Hyena
The Mistaken
Uncouth Reflections 
When I was a kid we stopped in Silver City once during a road trip to visit relatives in Texas. I remember there being a copper mine in the town, too, and buying a souvenir of some copper ore.
By coincidence, in high school not one but *two* of my teachers grew up in Silver City.
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Turquoise is a nice breath of fresh air. They even applied it along the curb in picture 5 — like, why not? Makes a great contrast against the orange-y brick too.
Won’t find that in the striver parts of the country, where the only color palettes allowed are shades of gray, all ultra-white, or the gray and lime (retro Fifties!).
Color — the most dispensable concern for the contempo architect. Would you trust the visual insight of someone who was color-blind? Why we let them keep making this stuff… anyway, cool pictures.
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Reblogged this on Will S.' Sunny Side Blog and commented:
Beautiful place, both in its natural setting and in its architecture.
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Swell pics.
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Excellent pics. I want to visit NM very much.
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“On a recent road trip that may or may not have included scouting candidates for the new Lady Barken.”
I vote “may have”!
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“The landscape is beautiful high grassland, framed by piney mountains and cut by rocky canyons. It’s a worked land too, where ranches and prosperous little towns abound…”
That’s wonderful writing, Sir. I suggest you consider a writing career.
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I can’t afford it, but thanks just the same.
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