Cerrillos Hotel Postcard

Cerrillos (Little Hills), New Mexico. A small inhabited village 20 miles SW of Santa Fe on NM Hwy 14. Several of the old buildings remain and have been used as movie sets. "Young Guns" is one movie that was filmed here in 1988. Walt Disney's "Zorro" television series also used this location in the 1950's. Nearby are the old turquoise mines which had been worked for centuries by the indians prior to the coming of the Spanish settlers. The Spaniards took over the mines removing a great deal of this unique turquoise. Some of the turquoise found its way into the crown jewels of Spain! Around 1879, gold and silver were discovered in the "Little Hills." This created a temporary boom until the mines played out. Today Cerrillos relies on tourism. Until about 1972, the oldest operating saloon in New Mexico, Tiffany's Saloon, was located on the corner directly across the street from the Hotel pictured above. In an act of arson, the building burned to the ground. Many famous (and infamous) western figures quenched their thirst at this saloon. NM Territorial governor Lew Wallace would sit at a corner table while penning his soon to be famous novel, "Ben Hur."