The brochure we picked up at the Visitors Center was titled “Discover the Town of Carrizozo – At the Crossroads of New Mexico.” It provided a brief history of the town’s founding and mentioned several places of interest.
One of the places, McDonald Park, had a unique sculpture that looked like a spider. There was also a picture of the historic Carrizozo Trading Company. The backside of the brochure listed reasons to visit, including historic buildings and art galleries.
These places were a short drive from our campsite at the Valley of Fires Recreation Area. They were also highly recommended by the ranger working at the center. We returned to the RV, checked on the dogs, then headed out for an afternoon of sightseeing.
In our haste, we neglected to locate the addresses of the places we wanted to see. We had only gotten directions to the town.
At the intersection of US 380 and US 54, we turned south. The street signs showed we were on Central Ave. After driving a short distance, we saw the Gift Gallery, which is housed in a National Historic Site. Unfortunately, it was closed for the season.
We continued to drive a little further before turning around and heading back to the Gift Gallery at Central Ave and 12th. Some interesting buildings were on the corner, so we stopped to take pictures.
That’s when we met the first of several friendly Carrizozo residents. He suggested we drive down 12th Street, where most shops and galleries were located. While chatting with us about the town, he recommended we visit the Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography. He thought Andy would enjoy the photography that was currently on display. We thanked him for his help and headed down 12th Street.
Historic Theater and a Large Spider
We didn’t drive far before Andy pulled over and parked the car near the Carrizozo Lyric Theater. The Lyric Theater first opened in 1916 as an Opera House. In 1918, a screen was added, and it was converted into a movie theater. The theater closed in 1979 and lay dormant until 2016, when it was refurbished and given new life.
Across from the Lyric Theater is McDonald Park, home to the large sculpture from the brochure. It was much larger than I had anticipated. When we got closer to it, we saw it was formed from the black lava for which the area is known. When talking to locals, we discovered they refer to the park as ‘Spider Park, and the sculpture is decorated during the holiday season.
The Hollywood Connection and A Resident Artist
Continuing our journey, we drove further up 12th Street, stopping near an old Ben Franklin store.
While Andy was taking street-view photos of the store, another helpful resident pulled up and walked over to us. During our conversation, he mentioned that portions of the movie, The Book of Eli, were filmed in Carrizozo.
While we were talking, another man started unloading a pickup truck in front of the store. The first man quickly said we needed to meet this guy, and he introduced us to Steve Fortelny, the owner of the Ben Franklin Gallery.
Steve invited us into his home/studio/gallery in the former Ben Franklin building.
We walked around the studio, looking at his paintings and other artwork. Steve showed us the renovations he’d made to the inside of the old store and a few of his future plans. He also told us about the piece he was working on for the upcoming “A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose” presentation at Malkerson Gallery 408.
Steve also told us stories of the Hollywood film crew coming into their small town.
The interior of the Lyric Theater was used for the bar scenes in The Book of Eli. The set designers used styrofoam to transform the storefronts of buildings for the movie. And the town got to watch as the film was made.
After the movie crew left, Steve took some of the leftover styrofoam and created the wall on the side of his gallery.
Even though Steve was busy working on his latest creation, he took the time to give us a tour, explain some of his renovations, and show us his art. We enjoyed our time exploring his gallery and listening to his stories.
Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography
After saying goodbye to Steve, we headed up the street to the Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography. Sherry Hayne, another artist living and working in Carrizozo, greeted us at the door.
The Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography is one the largest photography-only galleries in New Mexico. Located in the original Carrizozo Trading Co. building, it has over 7,000 square feet of gallery space. The original office from the trading company is still in use as the gallery office.
The current exhibit was the winning photos from the 17th Annual New Mexico Magazine Photo Contest. As we walked through the gallery, Sherry told us that over 35 photographers had their work displayed. We took time exploring the gallery and enjoyed looking at the beautiful landscapes and wildlife photos.
During our visit, Sherry recommended we visit Malkerson Gallery 408, on the other end of 12th Street. The owner of the Tularosa Basin Gallery and Malkerson Gallery was currently working there.
After purchasing a copy of the February 2018 New Mexico magazine and picking up a few postcards, we thanked Sherry for the tour and stepped out into the cool sunshine.
The Burros of Carrizozo
One of the things that intrigued us about Carrizozo was the painted burros. There are burros on rooftops, burros on sidewalks, and burros in the lovely sculpture garden at 408 12th Street.
As we walked up to Malkerson 408 Gallery, we were drawn into the garden by the large sculptures and painted burros. While we were looking around, gallery owner Joan Malkerson came outside to greet us.
When we were done admiring the sculptures, she led us through the back door into her store and told us the story of the Carrazozo Burros.
The idea originated in her gallery as a public art project named the Burro Serenade. Burros were chosen for the project because they are historically indigenous to the area. Local artists paint them, and no two burros are the same. This year is the 12th anniversary of the burros, often referred to as the Painted Burros of Southern New Mexico. Joan graciously allowed Andy to take a picture of the burro room in the gallery.
Joan shared that she and her husband, Warren, moved to Carrizozo in 2005 and purchased the gallery for Joan to pursue her art. Since then, the gallery has grown and become the base for an Artist in Resident Program.
The artists that live and work in Carrazozo are passionate about their craft and the town. Joan shared that the nearest grocery store was 20 miles away. When one of them was planning to go, they often called others to see if they needed anything. At the time of our visit, there were 20 local artists and three artists in residence working and creating art in Carrizozo.
We purchased a small burro from Joan as a souvenir of our visit to this interesting little town. Next time we won’t visit in January. We’d love to come back during the spring or fall when more shops are open and festivals are happening.
We didn’t search the Internet for Carrizozo before our visit. Afterward, I located articles about Carrizozo in New Mexico travel guides and a few online sites. Several articles described the little town we saw as “a quirky town experiencing a resurgence as a growing arts community.”
I don’t know about quirky. Based on the people we met, I would describe it as a growing colony of down-to-earth artists that have found a place to call home.
Check out our Saturday in Santa Fe post if you want to learn more about New Mexico art and architecture.
I’d never heard of Carrizozo but it’s got a great, small-town Americana vibe!
If your travels take you to New Mexico, we recommend you put Carrizozo and the Valley of Fires on your list.