Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

This Romanesque Revival cathedral rises just off Santa Fe's plaza, its honey-colored sandstone a deliberate contrast to the city's adobe fabric. Built between 1869 and 1886 under Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, it was raised around an older adobe church, remnants of which survive in a side chapel holding a revered wooden statue of the Virgin. The French-influenced design reflects Lamy's origins and the era's ambitions for the frontier diocese. Carved wooden doors add to its Southwestern character.