Las Cruces, NM

[EffSizzle]

Can anybody give me any information on this place? I've heard it's a wonderful little town.

[RETROMANIA]

I've just heard that it's close to El Paso & Ciudad Juárez.

[DIPLOMATICO]

Originally Posted by FALTAN.LUNAS

I've just heard that it's close to El Paso & Ciudad Juárez.

Yes you are right! El Paso an d Juarez City are closer

VISIT JUAREZ CITY!

Benito Juarez Monument


Shot at 2007-07-16

Shot at 2007-07-16

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Theater Cultural Center Paso del Norte

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Central Park Juarez City

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FIESTA INN HOTEL

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CAMINO REAL HOTEL

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IMSS HOSPITAL

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LUCERNA HOTEL

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HILTON GARDEN INN HOTEL

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LINCONLN MONUMENT

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DISTRIBUIDOR VIAL

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FRIDAS DISCOTEQUE

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CATEDRAL

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OLD PRESIDENCE OF JUAREZ

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JUAN GABRIEL HOUSE

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OLD POST OFFICE

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PASEO TRIUNFO DE LA REPUBLICA AVENUE

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DOOR OF JUAREZ CITY

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EX ADUANA MUSEUM

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PLAZA LAS MISIONES MALL

Shot with C120,D380 at 2007-07-16

[505_SW]

Las Cruces is a beautiful little city, more so than El Paso. It is very much a retirement hot bed, and recently has seen a boom in upscale developments. El Paso does have a lower crime rate than LC, and better shopping. But with just a 45 minute drive to EP you can get your big city shopping fix anytime. Las Cruces does have most retailers that you would need on a regular basis and as it continues to grow things will only get better. The Organ (not Oregon) Mountains are a stunning backdrop to this fast growing city.

[xzmattzx]

This is what Las Cruces looks like from the air.



I took this photo when flying from Las Vegas to Houston.

[NickABQ]

Las Cruces is a nice city. Fast growing and definately a hot-spot.

[haldcottingham]

Beautiful pictures! Looks like a nice quiet city. I wouldn't mind visiting myself.

[PhillyintheDuke]

Small rural town that is on the rise
Much nicer feel than El Paso.

There tallest building is DT about 7 or eight stories.

More of Colonial feel, especially in the older areas of Mesilla. Definitely an aggie town.

The residents are part of many generations that date back to settlement of the Mesilla Valley.

These are the only pics of LC I have. I love old photos!
The organ Mountains are stunning.


Las Cruces looking south ca. 1915


Lorretto Academy, LC ca. 1915


New Mexico State Univ. campus ca. ?


St Genevieves Catholic Church, LC ca, 1890


The area will have more imporatance in the few decades, as the new space port being spearheaded by Virgin is to be built just 40 miles north of LC. hey also have White Sands Missile Range to the East.

[Billpa]

Home to New Mexico State U.

As someone mentioned, the Old Mesilla village is a gem.

image hosted on flickr


Drive south along the Rio Grande and you won't believe the pecan farms...it goes on for miles and miles...
Even in the winter, you'll forget you're in the middle of the desert:

image hosted on flickr

[elmwood]

My first job out of college was as a planner in Las Cruces. Hated the job, but the city grew on me; I sill have a lot of friends there, visit every year or so, and it's one of my top picks for when I retire. IMHO, it's kind of a like a mashup of Albuquerque and Santa Fe; it's not a thing like Alamogordo, Roswell, Farmington, or Clovis. This is from an older post I made about the city, comparing it to El Paso:

A saying in New Mexico: "Las Cruces; so far from heaven, so close to El Paso."

The closest comparison: Las Cruces is to El Paso as Boulder is to Denver. Cruces is a somewhat artsy, somewhat liberal, somewhat well-educated college and tech town that seems to be the mostly forgotten compared to Albuquerque and Santa Fe; El Paso is a large-ish, predominantly blue-collar city but the business center for a huge, albiet mostly empty area. Cruces is no Boulder, but then again El Paso is no Denver.

Differences between the cities:

Las Cruces is more Anglo than El Paso; LC's population is 50% Hispanic, compared to El Paso being about 70% Hispanic. English is the default language in Cruces, but you'll still hear some Spanish. In El Paso, Spanish is predomiant; if you're not on the West Side or far North Side, you'll likely hear more Spanish and Spanglish than English. The majority of Hispanics in Cruces are from long-established families, many dating to the land grant days. More El Pasenos are Mexican born. People in both cities are generaly friendly.

The built environment of the cities are much different. El Paso is filled with huge signs and billboards; Cruces has much tougher sign standards, and its sprawl is much easier on the eyes. Architecture in Cruces tends to be more Southwestern, in El Paso, you'll see more generic corporate architecture, and Dallas/Houston-style brick houses in some areas. Arroyos and draws in Cruces are mostly left in their natural state; in El Paso they're concrete channels. Las Cruces, for the most part, is a much more attractive city than El Paso.

Inversions tend not to affect Cruces, and skies there will be clear there while El Paso is covered in smog.

Las Cruces has what seems like more culture per capita than El Paso. There's the influence of NMSU (about the same size as UTEP), along with many artists and new age types that are drawn to the city because they want to be in New Mexico, but they find Albuquerque too big and Santa Fe too expensive. Pan Am Stadium in Cruces pulls in a lot of big name acts.

Real estate prices are much higher in Cruces than in El Paso. Despite that, a lot of people live in Cruces and commute to El Paso.

Cruces is VERY suburban. Its downtown is dead, and there are only small areas that were built before World War II. Mesilla is great, but it's still lacking in density a few blocks from the Plaza. Much of the vacant land close to the Plaza is owned by established families who don't want to sell. El Paso is more urban, but it's "Texas urban" - a small downtown that is surprisingly busy for its size (mostly shoppers from Mexico; most retail there is low-end), a tiny bit of activity around UTEP, but otherwise suburban and auto-oriented.

In general, the shopping is much better in El Paso. Sunland Park Mall is quite upscale for a city with El Paso's demographics, and the other malls are doing quite well. Mesilla Valley Mall in Cruces is past its prime. The quality of restaurants is better in Cruces, but there's more variety in El Paso. El Paso has all the strip clubs.

An indicator of sorts: there are far more Starbucks per capita in Cruces than in El Paso.

Crime is low in both cities. You'll see lots of houses with bars on the windows in El Paso, but rarely in Cruces. Crime in Cruces tends to be strange; there's common turf gang fights over trivial issues, and more animal cruelty than you would expect. Auto theft in El Paso is rampant.

I'd say, if anything, there's more of a cultural divide between Las Cruces and El Paso than between El Paso and Juarez.

Typical El Pueblo del Jardín de Las Cruces.

[elmwood]

Also, FWIW, I've got a bunch of Juarez photos here.

[Billpa]

Thanks for the LC pictures; I spent two years at White Sands Missile Range- in the mid 80s- and loved seeing it again

[Bond James Bond]

Wow, that looks way cool!

Love those mountains.

[SupahSaints]

I stayed in the city for a day when I was driving from New Orleans to San Diego. It was a sleepy small city with not much to do. I like New Mexico State University though....nice campus. I do find El Paso interesting. An American city but it feels like I was in modern Mexico. Juarez was quite interesting too and I had the best darn Church's fried chicken in Juarez. It was something with the oil that made it so good....kind greasy but good. Heck maybe it was lard. Oh yea, the people in Juarez are crazy drivers too. LOL

[swerve3030]

Originally Posted by Bond James Bond

Wow, that looks way cool!

Love those mountains.

Pat Garret the sheriff that shot Billy the Kidd is buried somewhere up in the Organ mountains. Noboddy seems to know where the exact location of his grave is.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by Bond James Bond

Wow, that looks way cool!

Love those mountains.

Totally. Those are beautiful.

[-KwK345-]

Wow. Las Cruces looks way nicer that I it would.

[pedro_auriazul]

i really love this thread, because i imagine mexico...in the 1st world

[BB-61]

Originally Posted by swerve3030

Pat Garret the sheriff that shot Billy the Kidd is buried somewhere up in the Organ mountains. Noboddy seems to know where the exact location of his grave is.

Pat Garrett is buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Las Cruces since 1957 when the family moved him there from the Oddfellows Cemetery.

BB-61

[davsot]

Bicycle Infrastructure. Nice! Not too shabby for a small town.