Glorieta Lookout is one of the many lookouts that's on the Santa Fe National Forest.
It was kind of planned for in 1936 and brought here in 1939, in parts.
It was actually mailed to the Forest Supervisor's office in Santa Fe.
I think it came, it must have come on a railroad car.
And it's built here in 1939 and 1940.
It was used through the early 1990s and then it was just kind of abandoned.
But before that, it was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in the late
1980s and I think placed on the National Register in 1988 as a typical but kind of unique
example of the kind of architecture of lookout architecture that it is.
It consists of the wooden frame cab that sits on top of this aermotor tower.
And the aermotor, if anybody's not familiar with that, actually was a big maker of
windmills and also one of the few makers of lookout tower frames in the United States.
And we had been working with the Friends of the Santa Fe National Forest for the last
year or so to try to figure out how to stabilize it and rebuild this cabin, or this
lookout.
Friends groups typically support forest but non-budget items, things that they want to
do.
So during this period it was the preparation of the Centennial for the Santa Fe National
Forest and we had these periodic meetings that I was invited to.
So I went to the meeting and I said what are you guys, what would you like us to do as
far as a project is concerned?
And it was instant around the table they said hey, how about restoring Glorieta Baldy
Fire Lookout Tower?
Three of us came up here in October of 2015 and we had a look at this place and said this
is just the best.
The location, I mean you can see almost to the curvature of the earth from here.
It's 10,400 feet.
We will raise funds to do this project and it will then become part of the Forest Service
assets for this Santa Fe National Forest.
Once this thing is renewed and renovated, we intend to put it in the cabin rental program
that the Forest Service has and allow people to come up here and rent it over night and
stay.
Long distance hikers, people that want to have a special view of our wonderful northern
New Mexico forests.
The Friends, of which there are many, of this Forest, are very interested in having it
accessible to the public and it would be a really neat place to visit.
It's an active project and it's got lots of backing, both from the Friends of the Santa
Fe, lots from the District Ranger Steve Romero, is the Ranger at Pecos-Las Vegas.
Has lots of backing from kind of local people who have been visiting it since they were
kids.
The National Historic Preservation Act is an act that requires federal agencies to
consider the impacts of their activities on historic structures, on archeological sites,
on areas of traditional interest to local people.
And if we didn't have that law, there wouldn't, we wouldn't be doing that.
I wouldn't be standing here talking to you.
There would be very little support or interest in doing things like stabilizing and
restoring structures like Glorieta Lookout.
The point of Preservation 50 is to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the National
Historic Preservation Act that was signed in 1966 and this is part of the Forest
contribution to kind of recognizing that anniversary.
So we're on our way with this thing and it's happened so fast and it's been so
enthusiastic.
This all began when I was a kid and I spent time in Estes Park, Colorado, near the Rocky
Mountain National Park.
When you're young and you get involved in this type of an activity outdoors, Forest
Service, Park Service, BLM, whatever the agency is, it sticks in you.
So this is part of my DNA you know.
I love this stuff.
It's very satisfying.