New Mexico History Museum
Reopening the Palace gates
The Palace of the Governors has reopened with the exhibit The Palace Seen and Unseen: A Convergence of History and Archaeology. As work on the historic site continues, restored rooms of the Palace’s west end now exhibit documents and artifacts analyzed by archaeologists and historians over the centuries. These include items related to, and predating, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and subsequent turnovers in governance and residency of the Palace, the longest continually occupied building in the United States. The exhibit notes, however, that the story of the Palace remains incomplete: “Missing . . . are the voices of children, African-descended and Native slaves and servants, and many everyday residents of the area . . . . Oral tradition may indicate that a diverse group of people interacted with the Palace throughout the building’s history.” A walk through renovated rooms also reveals a substructure of ancient adobe bricks that visitors can observe through a hole carved in the floor. In a 2014 presentation to museum supporters, archaeologists recalled that when touring the Palace, they literally fell through the aged wooden floors. Today’s visitors stand on floors that are solid and shiny. And outside the Palace, Indigenous artists have returned to sell their works under the portal, preserving one more dimension of the Plaza’s unique history. The exhibit is ongoing.