San Felipe de Neri Church

interior view of San Felipe de Neri Church 

Built in 1793, this church has been in continuous use.  It is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

My POST from yesterday contains a couple details of this church.

photo by me © 2007   all rights reserved

random Albuquerque photos

detail:  San Felipe de Neri Church

detail:  San Felipe de Neri Church

These photos were taken during a trip in 2007.  San Felipe de Neri Church was completed in 1793 and has continuously served the community.  It is on the National and State registers of historical places.  I'll post a photo of the interior of this lovely church tomorrow.

photos by me © 2007   all rights reserved

earthships

In 2007, on vacation, my husband and I drove between Taos and Albuquerque, New Mexico and saw a few very unusual houses.

An Earthship is a type of passive solar house, sustainable  in design and construction, made of natural and recycled materials designed and marketed by Earthship Biotecture.  Michael Reynolds began designing this type of house upon graduating with a degree in architecture from the University of Cincinnati in 1969.  He now builds all over the world.  Earthships are generally off-the-grid homes, minimizing their reliance on public utilities and fossil fuels.  Earthships are built to utilize the available local resources, especially energy from the sun.  Houses grow their own food and dispose of waste by recycling--quite ingenious.

"The earth is embracing the building...as a mother holds a baby." 

~Michael Reynolds 

This is quite a fascinating subject.  The business Earthship Biotecture offers internships, seminars, events, nightly rentals, and even kits to build your own!

Below is the plan of the custom model The Phoenix from the Earthship website.  This 3 bedroom, 2 bath house rents nightly.  It has a fish pond, birds, a jungle greenhouse, and grows food.

The Phoenix Custom Earthship--source

LINKS:
◊ interview  on youtube with architect Michael Reynolds, creator of Earthship Biotecture with a tour of an earthship 
◊ movie on youtube:  Garbage Warrior--documentary of the earthship movement
◊ "Sustainable Build" article on building green
◊ an account --an intern builds an Earthship
◊ Earthship Biotecture
◊ "Albuquerque Journal" article about students worldwide learning to build Earthships --with photos

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is  "E." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!  


Thank you, Ms Jenny, for hostessing another round!

  
photos by me  © 2007   all rights reserved

San Felipe de Neri Church: more images

Construction of the original church was begun in 1706.  The church collapsed in 1792 during heavy rains, and new construction was begun the following year.  The two towers (one of which you can see above on the right) were built in 1861.  Today, it is the oldest surviving building in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.


 

During the Civil War, in 1862, the confederate soldiers who had invaded New Mexico territory retreated back to Texas.  Subsequently, the Union Army leased the rectory for several years.

My last post was a close up of the fence in the above photo.

 

San Felipe de Neri Church is on the National and State Registers of Historic Places.

LINKS:

History  of the church
interesting facts and short history of Albuquerque, NM
NOTE:  The church is built in the shape of a cross.  Its wall are adobe and are 5' thick.

photos by me © 2007

San Felipe de Neri Church: Friday Fence Post

Fence on San Felipe de Neri Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  This beautiful church, built in 1793, was still undergoing restoration in 2007.  It's on the National and State Registers of Historic Places.  I should definitely show you some more photos of this lovely church, and will plan to do that next week.

Ani is hosting Fence Post Friday on her blog Coffee Pot People.

Read all about it and link up HERE.

Come join in the fun!

 

 

 

 

photos by me © 2007