New Mexico Public Welfare Building – Santa Fe NM

Description

“Completed in 1935, after a design by John Gaw Meem, the New Mexico Public Welfare Building was financed with Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) funds to serve as headquarters for FERA and other relief agencies working in New Mexico during the Depression. Reflecting a restructuring of the state’s relief agency under Governor Tingley’s administration, the Public Welfare Building represents the strengthening and centralization of both the state and New Deal relief programs in New Mexico during the Depression. The architecture of the Public Welfare Building is also significant for introducing the Territorial Revival style to public architecture in Santa Fe, and serving as the architectural standard for the development of the Capitol Building Complex.” (Murphey)

The building is also known as the Villigra Building, a name that “came with a 1953 addition which is no longer extant.” The facility underwent a substantial renovation in 2004.