(gentle music) - [Ali] On December 30th, 1922, La Fonda on the Plaza opened its doors to the public.
That New Year's Eve, La Fonda hosted the inaugural ball for New Mexico's new governor, James F. Henkel The ball dazzled Santa Feans, and the Santa Fe New Mexican wrote, inaugural ball breaks all records for gorgeousness.
From that moment, La Fonda would become the hub of Santa Fe society and referred to as Santa Fe's living room.
- I quickly learned that the place to hang out in Santa Fe was the La Fonda.
- La Fonda was really the center of town.
- La Fonda was the watering hole for many people in Santa Fe.
- La Fonda was the place where everything happened.
- Everything that ever happened in this region is held within these walls.
- La Fonda is the heart of Santa Fe.
La Fonda is you can, I think, say fairly to be the heart Santa Fe.
- All the connections that La Fonda has had to many, many lives in Santa Fe and around the world, those that have stayed here and have had memorable moments and occasions of weddings and anniversary celebrations, as well as all the generations of people that have worked here.
And, it has been the sustenance of their families and lives.
- [Ali] Dating back to the 1600s, there had always been some type of inn where La Fonda now stands, but, under the guise of legendary architect, John Gaw Meem, La Fonda set a new standard in design and cemented the movement to make the Pueblo revival architectural style, what Santa Fe is now known for the world over.
- John Gaw Meme was so influenced by the architecture that was around Santa Fe.
He went and spent a lot of time at Acoma, at Laguna.
He looked at the mission churches that were built in the 1600s, and then many rebuilt in the 1700s.
And, he brought that information and knowledge back to Santa Fe.
And, so if you look at La Fonda, the bell tower on La Fonda is actually based on one of the bell towers at the mission church of Acoma Pueblo.
Santa Fe's preservation code started in 1957, and that is in large part due to Mr. Meem's influence and desire to really protect what was happening around the state, knowing how special it was.
- [Ali] While the hotel opened in 1922, it's life as the La Fonda of legend really began with the purchase of the hotel by the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, who then leased it to the famous Fred Harvey Company.
- The Harvey Company was founded in the 1870s by a gentleman named Fred Harvey who was a British businessman who had come over and decided to approach a smaller railroad, the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe.
They were just a really small railroad at this moment when railroads were just exploding across the nation.
And, he came to them with the idea of serving on the railroads themselves, but also at certain locations where the railroad would stop.
And, so they established something called Harvey Houses.
- In those days, you got on at Laime, and then you went through Las Vegas, and then you went to Raton, and then you went into Kansas, and all along, there were stops that were Harvey restaurants.
- La Fonda is one of the very first Harvey Houses that was not on the railroad itself.
So, this is sort of a different venture for the Fred Harvey Company.
They start to really think of, how do we build a hotel that is specifically geared to tourists who are starting to be more car based?
- As you head west, people would detour up to Santa Fe to stay at La Fonda.
- Harvey Hotels were already famous throughout the west and the Fred Harvey Company considered La Fonda to be one of the crown jewels of their collection.
The company proceeded to dramatically expand the hotel to 166 rooms and upgraded the hotel's culinary reputation and service to new levels.
Most importantly, they introduced the signature Harvey girls to Santa Fe as the hostesses and waitresses of the hotel.
- New Mexico was a whole different culture for us.
I mean, to pronounce the Spanish name, we were used to Anderson, Olsen, Smith.
The Hispanic culture of course is so prominent in New Mexico, no matter where you go, and the Native Americans, the culture here, we had such stately people to wait on.
The food was absolutely the best.
I just feel like, when I look back... - They took the farm girls out of us, honey.
- Breakfast service, the Harvey girls, who were the waitresses in the classic Fred Harvey Hotels, maintained the white uniform and the black bow tie.
But, La Fonda was one of the very first places to really capitalize on the regional flair of a hotel.
So, the service for the evening and the tea were full peasant skirts, full fiesta skirts, and these beautiful dresses.
And, so they started to sort of play with, what are the regional and cultural things that we can pull in to make the experience at La Fonda truly unique?
- [Ali] Under the direction of Harvey's lead architect and designer, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, the hotel embraced Native American and Spanish design influences from the largest to the smallest detail.
- Colter was in the spaces where the artisans were.
She clearly went to those places and she clearly got her hands dirty.
When La Fonda was first built, she literally put the pillows for the guestrooms down on the floor and had the workers walk across the pillows in order to age the pillows.
- [Ali] Dear Mr. Meem, what are the electric lights in the bedrooms going to be?
I presume they've been designed and the order placed for them, but I cannot find anything on the subject.
It has some bearing upon the floor lamps and table lamps that will be used.
Oh, I got your letter saying that the hotel would be ready the 1st of February.
I wonder where you expect to go to when you die?
Even the contractor and the railroad superintendent hold out no such hopes.
Very truly yours, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter.
P.S.
My secretary suggests that you may be going where all good architects go.
On such occasions, I do not claim to be an architect.
- For me to be able to follow as an architect in the footsteps of a woman who broke all the rules in the 20s is incredible, because as a female architect, we're still trying to break the rules.
The fact that I'm a kinesthetic learner or a tactile learner, I think is really the connection that I have with her.
And, so it's really important to me when I'm designing, and when I'm, in particular, looking at things in La Fonda, to make sure that the things that people touch are real.
- [Ali] Having a female lead architect was remarkable at the time and, even more remarkable than that, was the amazing eye of Colter and her lasting vision of using local artisans to hand paint guest room headboards.
She considered every detail, down to the unique shape of the forged metal jack rabbit ash trays and the way light dispersed from the chandeliers.
Colter's influence is present in all of the Harvey Hotels.
Another Harvey signature was the introduction of the popular Harvey detours with tour packages featuring lectures and trips to Native American pueblos and historic sites.
Tourists from across America and the globe flocked to Santa Fe and other Harvey destinations, sharing their experiences and stories about the culture of the Southwest with the rest of the world.
- When they secured the hotel, they also pulled in an existing program that was a regional tourism program that literally took people out to historic sites.
So, if you can imagine you could get into a Packard or a Cadillac and drive out to Puye or drive out to some of the most iconic and recognizable historic sites and ruins all across the state.
This, at the time, was being run by a woman named Erna Ferguson.
So, the Harvey company recruited Erna and then turned her existing company into something called the Indian Detours.
And, that is really what we think of as cultural tourism today.
- [Ali] La Fonda's popularity as the destination for Santa Fe residents and tourists alike manifested itself in La Fonda's claim that all the world passes through our lobby, with artists, writers, politicians, socialites, and an assortment of roust abouts, frequenting the hotel and its popular venues.
The French writer, Simone de Beauvoir, stated there's a whole colony of intellectuals and artists in this town eager for any diversion and La Fonda is the most beautiful hotel in America, perhaps the most beautiful I have seen in all my life.
- Everything happened at La Fonda.
This is where you went when you went out.
And, I can remember my parents came every Saturday night.
They had dinner and dancing and it was sort of the social club of Santa Fe.
- [Ali] And, in fact, on at least three notable occasions, legend has it that, not only people, but horses gathered in the lobby of La Fonda.
- Well, he just rode the horse in for a few seconds and then they ushered him out, but that was...
It was during Fiesta - Throughout the years, La Fonda has welcomed everyone, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Zsa Zsa Gabor, Bill Clinton to Stevie Wonder, Elizabeth Taylor to ZZ Top, even a Maharaja who honeymooned at La Fonda.
- I think maybe that Greer Garson and Buddy Fogleson spent their wedding night here.
- [Ali] Popular musicians appeared at the hotel's nightclub, the Gate of Spain.
- I think the whole family went and Chubby Checker was performing in the Gate of Spain.
And, it was an unbelievable world class performance.
The energy that he exuded was just palpable.
- [Ali] From its beginnings as a Harvey hotel, La Fonda has always been known for creative cuisine with unique interpretations of Northern New Mexican and European cuisine delightfully fused together.
In the 30s, 40s, and 50s, Chef Konrad Allgaier, who allegedly cooked for Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German emperor and king of Prussia, brought a new level of cooking to Santa Fe.
- He could pull in this European history with a Southwest flair to create something that was completely unique for tourists to enjoy.
And, I think that approach to food service has continued throughout the history of La Fonda.
- [Ali] And, for more than 25 years, Chef Lane Warner has carried on that tradition, continuing to ensure that La Fonda remains popular with locals and travelers alike.
As Santa Fe's living room, locals have flocked to La Fonda throughout the decades for special events, dancing, music, and more.
- During World War II, La Fonda took on another role as the welcome center for scientists headed to Los Alamos to work on the Manhattan Project, with Oppenheimer, often meeting colleagues at the hotel.
During this time, it was rumored that the bartenders and bellman were actually government agents on the lookout for foreign spies.
- Dorothy McKibbia once told me she greeted scientists who came here to work at Los Alamos.
She was in La Fonda lobby, and she'd been offered the job, but can't tell you what it is exactly what you're going to be doing.
And, she didn't know whether to accept it or not.
And, just then, Oppenheimer walked by.
Whoever she was talking to said that's the guy who'd be your boss.
And, the story is, she said, I'll take the job - [Ali] From its beginnings, La Fonda welcomed and fostered the art and culture of Native American and Spanish cultures.
The hotel has commissioned artwork from local artists throughout its history.
- In other listings of Native American artists in the teens and 20s, you don't necessarily have names attributed to the artists.
And, what was one thing that I think really should be celebrated about the Harvey Company is that they did put names to the artisans.
- La Fonda's been fantastic at promoting, not just the art on the wall, but the artists themselves.
When I was thinking about art to include in La Fonda's art collection, I took into a lot of consideration, what did it feel like to come here in 1920?
And, what did that feel like when you came here with Indian Detours, and you were seeing New Mexico for the very first time.
And, I felt like those paintings were sort of windows and glimpses into like yesteryear.
For many people, when they come to New Mexico, they're looking at the sky, and they're looking at the light, and they're looking at these rolling Hills and you drive towards Pojoaque and up to Taos and you see the Rio Grande.
And, that's a lot of what I painted and I thought it makes sense.
It's the right...
It's the right work for the context.
So, it is documenting a chapter of many artists' connection with Santa Fe, the community and the hotel.
- [Ali] Today, La Fonda houses a multimillion dollar museum quality art collection on display throughout the hotel.
The hotel has always been a major sponsor of Santa Fe's annual markets, including Indian Market, Spanish Market, and the International Folk Art Market, as well as a destination for Santa Fe's annual Fiesta celebrations.
The next turning point for La Fonda came in the late 1960s with the purchase of the hotel by Sam and Ethel Ballen.
- The thought that La Fonda wouldn't always be here or wouldn't be taken care of was just too much for them to bear.
So, they figured out how to buy it.
And, Sam and Ethel were very unique and they were the original multiculturalist.
- We worked with them for many years.
And, so they treated us like family.
- Mr. Ballen would just come walking through that door with his handshake like that to everybody.
- And, of course, Sam being Sam, he was so popular, such a wonderful guy.
- They were unusual hotel owners.
They dressed kind of quirky and they embraced the people that would hang in the living room of the La Fonda.
Sam would join in in these conversations with these wild groups, who would make history and make up history.
- [Ali] During the 1960s, La Fonda had begun to lose some of its luster.
And, at one point, there was even discussion of tearing it down.
The Ballens came to the rescue, dedicating their lives and pocket books to the rejuvenation and restoration of the hotel.
And, by embracing all things Santa Fe.
- They wanted the La Fonda to be of the community and a gathering place, a place that people would want to come to.
One of the employees was asked to paint all those window panes in the dining rooms with scenes that mattered to Santa Fe.
And, Sam and Ethel, both, wanted the employees to feel proud of where they worked.
- He saw each and every one of us as an integral part of what went on here.
And, that was so unique.
We all count.
We all matter.
We're all part of the La Fonda story.
- [Ali] The Ballens continued to reinvest in the hotel and closing the inner courtyard to create La Plazuela, adding the signature retail shops, La Teraza Ballroom, and the concierge level terrace rooms and suites, the bell tower rooftop bar and more.
Their legacy continues to this day.
- In the 2000s, Sam and Ethel passed and other investors purchased the hotel.
And, that was significant, because the new group had the interest in preserving and enhancing the historic values of the hotel.
The hotel went from a first class facility to a world class facility.
- When we put an ownership group together to buy the hotel, it continued the tradition of local ownership through Cienda Partners, we're very lucky to have an ownership group right now that care about the culture of the hotel, they care about the employees, they care about continuing to put money into the hotel, and that local ownership and family touch is what has continued and will carry on our success into the future.
- [Ali] In 2020, as preparations for the centennial celebration began, the worldwide pandemic hit.
La Fonda, like all hotels around the world, was faced with many critical decisions.
Do we keep the hotel open?
How can we continue to serve our community in its time of need?
Should we start the planned upgrades to the hotel?
- The tradition in the hotel industry is, when you cut the ribbon on a new hotel, you throw the key away, because you are never gonna close those doors.
The hotel's gonna be open 365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
And, we followed that tradition all during COVID.
We never close the doors of La Fonda.
- [Ali] In addition, La Fonda provided takeout meals for its staff and first responders and launched major upgrades planned for the hotel.
- I've been involved with La Fonda for 30 years and wearing different hats.
What makes La Fonda special is our employees.
The employees are treated as family.
They treat us as family.
And, when you have that kind of relationship, they are able to treat our guests as family.
That's why we have repeat guests.
That's why we have employees that have been here 30 and 40 years.
That's why we have retail tenants that are mom and pop's that have been here for 30 and 40 years.
And, that's what is so rewarding, to work for a place that honors that.
- There's an incredible sense of place here and a place that has meant something to so many people.
- I feel like it's sort of a part of my history, as well as everybody else's.
- If you find a job that you love, like I do this one, you never work a day in your life.
- I've been here so many years, every day, there's a different story.
- If you're staying at La Fonda, and you walk out of your door, and you walk over to the Palace of the Governors, the longest continuously occupied building in the whole United States, and you walk up to an artisan who is selling pottery that they made, that's part of their family heritage, that is a uniquely Santa Fe New Mexico experience.
And, there are direct ties to the history of La Fonda and the history of the Fred Harvey Company.
- I recall hearing about someone who named their daughter La Fonda, because of the hotel.
- It seemed to me that we always had a buzz in the town from May through October.
Now, we have a buzz in the town 365 days a year.
It's become a place where people wanna go, where people wanna see it.
They've heard about it.
So, the way it's changed is it's become a 365 day a year tourist destination rather than a May to October destination.
- [Ali] So, what is on the horizon for La Fonda?
Well, the owners will continue to invest in upgrades and the hotel will continue to do what it does best, provide superior accommodations, service, and amenities, that keep pace, both, with changes and traditions in Santa Fe.
La Fonda will own set the standard for authentic Southwest style and charm, attracting visitors from around the nation and the world, all while serving our local community with pride.
In the hearts and minds of many, La Fonda is Santa Fe.
(gentle music)