After 27 years in business, Posters of Santa Fe is closing its doors at 111 E. Palace Ave.

"Our neighbor, Southwest Collection, will be assuming the lease," Posters of Santa Fe owner Michael Munson said in an email.

"Our business model has not kept up with the increased rents — we have seen it double over the last 15 years while our sales have not. A great location, loyal customers, a good staff and wonderful local artists have blessed us. We will miss our important role as representing affordable local artist and crafts along with our long-standing relationships with the local museums and performing arts organizations in Santa Fe," Munson said.

"We plan on continuing the Posters of Santa Fe website, Munson Graphics publishing, fine art giclee printing and distribution along with our wholesale picture framing," Munson said.

Munson, having cared for his mother — who died in February — is starting a nonprofit called Life Circle to build small-scale, long-term care nursing homes in New Mexico, part of a movement known nationally as the Green House Project.

See the local website: www.life-circle.org

Posters of Santa Fe will begin a going-out-of-business sale Friday. The last day of business will be
Oct. 16.


Legendary Santa Fe hotel La Fonda on the Plaza is the feature of a new booklet commissioned by the hotel's board of directors and intended to highlight some of property's long and colorful history.

The booklet, From Every Window, A Glimpse of the Past, "showcases major milestones from the hotel's founding right up to the present, complete with dates, places and names so we all have a go-to source of information," said Jennifer Lea Kimball, chairman of La Fonda's board of directors, in a statement.

The 30-page book was written for La Fonda by author Barbara J. Harrelson.

The exact date of La Fonda's first presence on the Plaza is uncertain, but historians agree that some kind of lodging existed before 1833, when Mary Donoho ran a hotel with her husband, William.

The property was known variously as the Santa Fe House, U.S. Hotel, and Exchange Hotel before opening after reconstruction in 1922 as La Fonda. La Fonda operated more than 40 years as a Fred Harvey Hotel.

Sam and Ethel Ballen bought the hotel in 1968 and restored the property, "maintainng its unique history and character," Harrelson said. Ballen family heirs still own the hotel.

Among the famous people who visited La Fonda and created the legend and the lore of the property are Doña Tules, a wealthy gambling hall owner, author Willa Cather, actors Olivia de Haviland and Errol Flynn and such politicians as Ulysses S. Grant and John F. Kennedy.

And let's not to forget the World War II scientists and spies drawn to La Fonda by secrets of the Manhattan Project in nearby Los Alamos.

More recent community activities include the Fourth of July Pancakes on the Plaza event, Fiesta on the Plaza and the Christmas-time farolitos on Canyon Road, Harrelson said.

From Every Window is for sale at La Fonda's giftshop for $10.

Contact Bob Quick at bobquick@sfnewmexican.com.