Week One: Pockets of LC first glance

Alameda Depot ca. 1910

Alameda Depot ca. 2010

The Alameda Depot is my first pocket. It is fitting, as 2010 is the 100th anniversary of it's existence,  that I ruminate on a place that reverberates the past, the present, and potential future of Las Cruces on many levels. A hub of early Las Cruces that was a portal to and from, letting passengers shuttle off to ABQ or Santa Fe, El Paso and beyond.

The last passenger trains from the depot were in 1968 but its restoration is a reminder of what was and is possible. This Depot was the hub of expansion in the past, a vitalizer in many ways. Going forward I can't help but imagine, as maybe they did a hundred years ago the possibilities.

These pockets around town that we spotlight are, for me, all in some way related to high hopes, failed hopes, places we might escape from or escape to. Maybe the pockets simply raise questions of nostalgia versus modernity that could be pondered in Pioneer Park (that resides just a few blocks away from the depot) on a beautiful fall day. All have importance both communal and/or personal for varied reasons. For me this exploration merely shines the light on and maybe gives a little insight to these places. Less am I trying to nail any one place down but more to just say, "here are some thoughts... make of it what you will." That leaves its ultimate designation, its importance or lack there of up to the the individual who stumbles upon or hides in his or her Las Cruces pocket.