The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi is marked by its yellow limestone facade and two truncated towers, a design that stands in sharp contrast to the surrounding traditional adobe architecture. This Romanesque Revival structure was commissioned by the first Archbishop of Santa Fe, Jean-Baptiste Lamy, who arrived in eighteen fifty and found the local mission church, La Parroquia, inadequate for the seat of the archdiocese.