Baca District

The wedged-shaped Baca area marks the southern end of the Railyard and once served as a coal and fuel storage yard for the Denver & Rio Grande and New Mexico Central railways, connected to the North Railyard site by a still visible old rail alignment across the area currently occupied by School of the Deaf. The ten acres of the original site had no paved through streets, but haul trucks exited by surrounding local roads through the adjacent Baca neighborhood. The completed Acequia Trail Easement now connects the Baca area to the North Railyard for hikers and cyclists and provides a major link in the extensive trail system throughout the city of Santa Fe and beyond. The Acequia Madre flows quietly on the west side of the trail shaded by old-growth Elm trees, and many trail connections with streets in the Sierra Vista Street neighborhood to the west are evident.

Most of the pre-existing structures in the Baca Area today are metal warehouses reminiscent of an earlier era, with the exception of an artists’ studio compound which is a two-story stucco building. Warehousing, light industrial, stone yards and art production made up pre-development activities, but the recent introduction of cutting edge contemporary architecture housing furniture showrooms, retail shops and artists and architects’ live-work spaces are bringing an exciting new modern dynamic to this historic working district. The Baca Street area is in transition with a bright future for locally owned businesses.