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The Francisca Hinojos House at 355 E. Palace Ave. in Santa Fe, believed to date to the 1880s, was ruined by fire Thursday night, but its owner hopes it can be restored. (EDDIE MOORE/JOURNAL)
SANTA FE — A piece of old Santa Fe went up in flames and smoke Thursday night, but the owner of a now-charred historic house on East Palace Avenue is holding out hope that the building can be saved.
“There’s definitely been a lot of talk about that,” Bill Field, owner of the Francisca Hinojos House, said shortly after the last firetruck pulled away from the home at 355 E. Palace Ave. on Friday morning. “There’s a lot of optimism to try to get it back.”
Fields ran a graphic design business from the home, which housed several other offices. Among them were those of photographer Eliott McDowell, the Santa Fe Museum of Languages studio and attorney Patricia Glaszek.
The house holds a lot of historical significance.
According to the book “Old Santa Fe Today,” published by the Historic Santa Fe Foundation, the building was designed and constructed by French artisans from Louisiana, who were brought to the area by famed Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy to build the landmark St. Francis Cathedral just off the Plaza.
In 1887, the property was bequeathed to Doña Francisca Hinojos’ son, Don Alfredo Hinojos, a prominent political figure who also served as organist at the cathedral — now the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis — for nearly 50 years.
Though it’s unclear exactly when the home was built, best estimates gauge it as the mid- to late 1880s. It was placed on the Santa Fe Register of Historic Buildings and Sites in 1962 and the New Mexico Registry of Cultural Properties in 1969.
Built of adobe, the house didn’t burn to the ground. But Santa Fe Assistant Fire Chief Erik Litzenberg said officials had deemed it a total loss. He said the cause of the blaze is unknown. No one was inside the house when the fire broke out.
Litzenberg said a passerby reported flames coming from the house about 8:10 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters arrived about five minutes later, he said.
About 25 firefighters, four engines and four command vehicles responded to the scene. The fire was extinguished by about midnight, and firefighters spent the next five hours or so hitting hot spots.
“Unfortunately, we consider it a full loss, which is a shame because it was a beautiful building,” Litzenberg said.
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal
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