Casa Ortiz (Socorro)
Casa Ortiz, located on the Mission Trail in Socorro, exemplifies the simple structures of locally available materials built on the Spanish Colonial frontier. Reputedly constructed in the late 1700s with adobe walls and roof supports called vigas and latillas, it now houses an art gallery, gift shop, and sculpture garden featuring local and regional artists.
In the 1840s, the house belonged to José Ortiz, a trader who carted salt from the salt flat at the foot of the Guadalupe Mountains along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, and traded knives, sarapes, and other goods with Native Americans. Now home to a merchant of a different sort, the casa is filled with books—every available surface is piled high with both Spanish and English texts, the majority of which cater to children.