Don’t miss the opportunity to take a road trip to colorful Silver City NM. As one of Smithsonian Magazine’s best small towns to visit in 2014, according to them Silver City, a former silver and later a copper mining town “features stately 19th century architecture – everything from adobe to Victorian. The saloons where Western figures like Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy once might have visited, have been replaced by a bustling art scene – most of Silver City’s art galleries are concentrated in the downtown area, interspersed with coffee shops and restaurants.”
In Downtown Silver City make sure to visit the:
Yankee Arts District: In the block behind Broadway, this is an area with many artist’s studios and galleries.
Silver City Farmer’s Market: Located at 7th and Bullard, this is the spot to be on a Saturday morning where you can listen to country music and shop for local produce and gift items. The Art Market is across the street on Bullard.
Also, make sure to walk or drive around the Chihuahua Hill neighborhood where many of the immigrant miners lived and worked in the mines. The Gospel Hill area near the Silver City Museum has many historical properties dating from the 1880’s. The Silver City Museum, located in a historic home at 312 W. Broadway, is worth a quick visit.
The Downtown Historic Business District has some wonderful historic properties to explore as well.
Six miles north of Silver City is a former mining town that has some interesting historic buildings including the old opera house. Don’t miss the Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House. You might drive up from downtown in the evening to eat in this authentic saloon. It looks great!!
You might time your visit with the Silver City Clay Festival that happens annually in late July and early August.