Truth or Consequences Sites

"Caballo Dam, Rio Grand Project, New Mexico -- Caballo Dam on the Rio Grande is now being constructed by the Bureau to provide (1) flood control and river regulation, (2) the development of firm power at Elephant Butte Dam, and (3) additional storage for the Rio Gande Irrigation Project. Construction of the dam was commenced in June 1936 and is scheduled for completion in May 1938. It is a 1,250,000 cubic yard earthfill structure with a maximum height of 90 feet and a total length of 4,500 feet. The reservoir will have a storage capacity of 350,000 acre feet of...

Now: New Mexico Veterans' Center "The New Mexico Veterans' Center (formerly Carrie Tingley Hospital) was partially funded with WPA funds in 1937. The buildings were left vacant in 1981 when the Hospital moved to Albuquerque. In 1983 the Veterans' Administration and the New Mexico Legislature provided funds for renovation of the buildings and the establishment of the New Mexico Veterans' Center." -Phyllis Eileen Banks The "Turtle Pond" outdoor sculpture was commissioned from artist Eugenie Shonnard in 1937.

This building was repurposed in the 1980s as the New Mexico Veterans Center. Medium: terra cotta

"Although the dam was constructed to regulate water flows in New Mexico, Texas and Mexico, the lake became a recreational attraction from its inception. Recreation took off significantly after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed buildings, landscaping, roads and trails throughout the park from 1934-1940. The CCC also constructed a fish hatchery below the dam which was operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service until 1965, when it became part of New Mexico State Parks. Visitors to the Dam Site Recreation Area can see this era preserved in buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors to the Dam...

Now the Geronimo Station retail unit. Built in 1938. The New Deal cornerstone is located to the left of the building's entrance.

"New Deal mural entitled 'Indian Bear Dance' painted by Boris Deutsch in 1940. Truth or Consequences was known as "Hot Springs" until 1951." (flickr) "Indian Bear Dance, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico Installed in 1938, this 12-foot long, oil on canvas mural by Boris Deutsch is located in the Geronimo Retail Unit, 300 Main Street, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Post Office. The retail unit is open 24 hours a day for postal customers and visitors interested in New Deal art." (about.usps.com)

From The New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties (2004): "The coming of the New Deal and many of the work relief programs funded by the WPA proved to a boon for improving downtown Hot Springs and for civic organizations to improve amenities for the community. Under the first New Deal program, the Civil Works Administration, in 1934 the Women’s Improvement Club provided landscaping for a public drinking fountain. Other improvement projects included road and sidewalk construction (with most of the sidewalks within the historic district still bearing WPA or Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) imprints), construction of a...

"The New Mexico Veterans' Center (formerly Carrie Tingley Hospital) was partially funded with WPA funds in 1937. The buildings were left vacant in 1981 when the Hospital moved to Albuquerque. In 1983 the Veterans' Administration and the New Mexico Legislature provided funds for renovation of the buildings and the establishment of the New Mexico Veterans' Center. The Sierra County Court House and the Community Center are two other WPA buildings in T or C. " -Phyllis Eileen Banks

Now a visitor center, what was constructed as a community center in Truth or Consequences was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938. From The New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties (2004): "A WPA project completed in 1938, the former Hot Springs Community Center is one of the best examples of the Spanish-Pueblo Revival style in Sierra County. On a concrete foundation, the building is one story with a flat stepped roof with parapets. The greater height of the central core of the building denotes the auditorium located at the rear of the building. Consisting of a steel...