This elegant new end table is named after the New Mexican town of Bernalillo. A place that you have probably never heard of, we actually live there and would like to keep it that way. But alas, we let you in on it anyway… Twelve miles north of Albuquerque, sandwiched between the Rio Grande, the Sandia Mountains, and the Native Pueblos of Sandia and Santa Ana lies one of New Mexico’s oldest communities, the quiet town of Bernalillo. Hispanic farming settlements began in the 1600’s and the town was formally founded in 1695 by Don Diego De Vargas.

Pueblos settlements nearby predate the town and the ruins of Kuaua Pueblo and rare ancient kiva paintings are preserved at Coronado State Monument. The monument showcases the Pueblo, as well as the conquistador Coronado who camped nearby from 1540-1542. Architecture buffs take note, the museum and visitor’s center building of the monument was designed by architect John Gaw Meem who was instrumental in developing the Pueblo Revival style so common today.

Further south into town, the Zocalo restoration is complete. This group of historic adobe buildings formerly housed a high school, convent, and assorted agricultural buildings, but is now home to the Sandoval County Visitors Center and county offices. This section of Bernalillo is part of a historic district which features many buildings built by the famed adobe builder Abenicio Salazar. Across the street lies the historic San Lorenzo Church and the New Mexico Wine Festival Grounds.

A nearly century old terron (sod brick) barn, turned mortuary has been fully restored by the Bernalillo Youth Conservation Corps and will soon be home to the New Mexico Wine Museum. The corps is now working on the restoration of L.B. Putney Flour Mill, adjacent to downtown Bernalillo’s Railrunner Station.

A short walk west from the downtown Bernalillo Rail Station is the famous Range Café. The Range is a New Mexico institution and people come from far and wide to enjoy the food and ambiance. During the last presidential campaign, Barack Obama made a campaign stop at the Range, and various Hollywood celebrities have made pilgrimages there. We recently spotted Helen Mirren having a meatloaf sandwich in a corner booth. In typical Bernalillo fashion this doesn’t cause any excitement.

Close to the river in the Bosque (cottonwood forest), some small farms and market gardens swim against the tide of urbanization and sprawl. Bernalillo hosts a Farmers Market on Friday evenings in the summer, which sits on an open lot on Camino del Pueblo in front of a burned out farmhouse. That’s Bernalillo; historic, authentic, and a little rough around the edges. We wouldn’t want it any other way.