Historic Preservation and the Imagined West Essay

Historic Preservation and the Imagined West - Essay Example Albuquerque today is one of the fastest growing cities in the west. It sits in the valley between two rivers and much of their history is related to â€Å"sitting between two rivers†. It is high desert and is always warm and dry. It is in New Mexico and its original inhabitants were Mexican. There still is a large population of Hispanic people in the Albuquerque area and most of the culture of the city is affected by the Hispanic culture. There is also a large pueblo Indian culture in the Albuquerque area including Southern Ute, Navajo and Apache (McCullah, 2007, pg 30). These cultures have affected the past culture of the city and continue to affect the present culture. As you enter Old Town, you will notice all of these influences immediately. Old Town in Albuquerque sits at Central and 4th Streets in the city. It took $8 million to make it old enough for a tourist historic district. It was, in fact, the area in which old Hispanic culture began. In fact, back when the city was small, it was very close to the center of town. There are iron fences and gardens just like you would imagine. You can stroll around the area in the shade of the verandas from the buildings. Shopping is readily available and you better bring your wallet because they are very expensive and exclusive in nature. This culture was created from another, older culture. The Hispanics were driven from the area when the renovations began. They were evicted from their homes. The Navajo used to sell all original jewelry off blankets on the streets and the local life was vibrant yet poor. It is a little ironic that the very culture of the people were driven away in order to represent that culture as historic. This writer believes that is what Morley was trying t o tell us in her book (Morley, 2006). Today Old Town is a beautiful place to visit and certainly there are many things to do and much to buy. It is definitely a tourist attraction. The advertisements on the internet are very