4 Best Sights in The East Side with Canyon Road and Museum Hill, Santa Fe

Built in 1940 and designed by legendary Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's exploration of the Southwest, this church is the largest Spanish adobe structure in the United States and is considered by some to be the finest example of Pueblo-style architecture anywhere. The church was constructed in the old-fashioned way by parishioners, who mixed the more than 200,000 mud-and-straw adobe bricks and hauled them into place. The 225-ton white stone reredos (altar screen) is magnificent.

Headquarters of the Historic Santa Fe Foundation (HSFF), this 19th-century Territorial-style house has a small exhibit on Santa Fe architecture and preservation, but the real draw is the small but stunning garden abundant with lavender, roses, and mid-19th-century trees. Relax on a wrought-iron bench and take in the fine views of the hills northeast of town. The HSFF is a wealth of information on Santa Fe's historic properties, offering a great brochure for self-guided walking tours. They also sponsor monthly Salon El Zaguán lectures and rotating exhibits. It is free to visit the garden but guided tours cost extra.

While under construction, this 32,000-square-foot building was dubbed the "ninth northern pueblo," its scale supposedly rivaling that of the eight northern pueblos around Santa Fe. The Pueblo-style gallery is now a showcase for American and European art from the 19th century to the present. The sister contemporary showroom features more avant-garde pieces. The whole space feels like a museum, but all the works are for sale.

Stop inside this late-1890s adobe building to admire a truly diverse collection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture, much of it with a regional and traditional approach, and some of it downright whimsical. The owners also operate the excellent GF Contemporary, across the street, which focuses more on modern and abstract works.