Los Tomases Chapel
3101 Los Tomases, NW, Albuquerque, NMThe Los Tomases Chapel is locally significant as the only privately-owned community Chapel still in use in Albuquerque. It is a unique example of the continuation of a tradition begun in 17th-century New Mexico and was appropriately built in the simple one-room plan of the older vernacular chapels.
The building was constructed by residents of the Los Tomases community on land donated by the Santillanes family. This family had lived in the area since 1848 when Polinario Santillanes was granted "land between Duranes and Candelarias" by alcalde Manuel Armijo." Since the construction of the Chapel--initiated by the present owner's grandmother--the family has maintained the building which still lacks electricity and plumbing. It is now opened only once a year on May 3rd for the saying of the rosary for local residents.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.