What title does Santa Fe hold?

Oldest state capital city in the US

What do city rules require in the historic districts?

Buildings follow traditional styles and colors

Santa Fe Adobe Quiz: Pueblo Revival Walls and the Plaza

This Santa Fe adobe quiz walks the earth-toned streets of New Mexico's capital. Play 10 interactive questions on sun-dried adobe bricks, Pueblo Revival style, projecting vigas, the 1610 Palace of the Governors, the city's oldest-capital title, the historic styles ordinance, San Miguel Chapel, Loretto Chapel's staircase and the round state capitol.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

State
Santa Fe is the capital of which state?
Brick
What is adobe?
Style
Which revival style shapes much of Santa Fe?
Vigas
What are vigas?
Palace
When was the Palace of the Governors built?
Capital
What title does Santa Fe hold?
Rules
What do city rules require in the historic districts?
Chapel
Which church is often called the oldest in the US?
Stairs
What is Loretto Chapel known for?
Roundhouse
What shape is the New Mexico State Capitol?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Santa Fe is the capital of which state?
Answer: New Mexico
It sits at the foot of mountains.
Q2: What is adobe?
Answer: Sun-dried bricks of earth, water and straw
Mud walls hold heat well.
Q3: Which revival style shapes much of Santa Fe?
Answer: Pueblo Revival
It echoes Pueblo villages.
Q4: What are vigas?
Answer: Wooden roof beams that stick out of walls
They are a signature detail.
Q5: When was the Palace of the Governors built?
Answer: Around 1610
It is the oldest continuously used public building in the US.
Q6: What title does Santa Fe hold?
Answer: Oldest state capital city in the US
It was founded around 1610.
Q7: What do city rules require in the historic districts?
Answer: Buildings follow traditional styles and colors
Rules date from 1957.
Q8: Which church is often called the oldest in the US?
Answer: San Miguel Chapel
Its walls are adobe.
Q9: What is Loretto Chapel known for?
Answer: A spiral staircase with no central support
Legends surround its builder.
Q10: What shape is the New Mexico State Capitol?
Answer: Round
It is nicknamed the Roundhouse.

Earthen Walls, Vigas and Pueblo Revival Style

Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, was founded around 1610 and is the oldest state capital city in the United States. Its look comes from adobe, sun-dried bricks made of earth, water and straw, which keep buildings cool in summer and warm in winter.

The Palace of the Governors, built around 1610, is the oldest continuously used public building in the country. Many buildings use the Pueblo Revival style, with rounded earthen walls, flat roofs and wooden vigas, roof beams that project from the walls. Since 1957, city rules have required traditional styles and earth-tone colors in historic districts.

Adobe walls need regular re-mudding with fresh earthen plaster. San Miguel Chapel is often called the oldest church in the United States, while Loretto Chapel is famous for a spiral staircase with no central support. The round New Mexico State Capitol, nicknamed the Roundhouse, is shaped like a Zia sun symbol.

What This Quiz Teaches

Architecture fans will enjoy these questions.

What adobe is
Which style Santa Fe uses
Which buildings are oldest
How styles are protected
Which landmarks stand out

Did You Know?

Kiva fireplaces are rounded corner fireplaces.
Many newer buildings use stucco to look like adobe.
Coyote fences are made of upright wooden sticks.
Farolitos line rooftops at Christmas.
Native artisans sell jewelry under the palace portal.