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LAS CRUCES - Work has begun on a long-awaited effort to restore one of downtown Las Cruces' most historic buildings.
Four college engineering students and a professor last weekend began a volunteer effort to restore a 400-square-foot room in the Amador Hotel, an adobe building constructed in the 1800s.
History buffs are aiming for each of the eight side rooms on the building's first floor to be finished by Jan. 6, 2012 - in time to host a centennial ball in honor of the 100th anniversary of New Mexico's statehood.
"It would be really nice if we can have those rooms ready for that ball," said Dawn Starostka, executive director of the Amador Museum Foundation, a nonprofit carrying out the restoration.
While that might be the goal, Starostka said the pace of the project depends heavily on the donations the group is able to raise. She said the group seeks about $5,000 per room.
The restoration will entail a number of changes to the interior, mainly getting rid of the additions made to the building when it was home to Citizens Bank in the '70s, said Sonya Cooper, professor in New Mexico State University's Engineering Technology and Surveying Engineering Department.
"They hid a bunch of the original architectural features - added dropped ceilings and added plaster to the walls, a bunch of new stuff," said Cooper, a licensed engineer
Cooper said the plaster in the room where work recently began is up to 1.5 inches thick in some places. Once finished, the original adobe will show. Also, she said carpet will be ripped out to expose the original wood flooring. She said she's hoping this will be done by March 31 - the date of a fundraiser called, "If These Walls Could Talk."
Organizers said the event, at $25 a ticket, is aimed at showcasing the building and what it could look like after the restoration, in hopes of stirring up future sponsors. The event will feature experts who'll talk about the building's history.
The structure was initially built by the Amador family - Starostka said there's some uncertainty about the specific date - as a single-story home. It morphed into a hotel over the years and a second floor was added. It remained under the Amador family ownership until the 1960s, when it was sold to a private buyer who defaulted on payment. It was resold around 1970 to Citizens Bank, which added a drive-up teller window. Do-a Ana County bought the building in 1985. It was the county manager's office as recently as 2006, when the county moved most of its offices to a building on Motel Boulevard. The county gave the building to the city of Las Cruces in 2007. The city accepted it on the condition that the Amador Museum Foundation raise money for any repairs and restoration.
Cooper said the cost of restoration per room may range as high as $15,000, depending on what's needed. For instance, the windows may be original, she said, but the new, period-specific doors likely will have to be purchased and installed. And antique furnishings eventually will be added.
Plus, Starostka noted that the room restoration is just a "small part" of the long-term, larger-scale plan to revitalize the building, which could cost between $6 million and $10 million. That plan, she said, includes creating a museum, demolishing a series of drive-through lanes from when the building was a bank, tearing down an addition on the eastern side of the building, and building a restaurant to re-create an Amador Hotel bar and patio that was once a prominent social spot in Las Cruces.
"That's where it's going eventually," she said.
The centennial ball will be hosted in the hotel, regardless of whether the room restoration project is entirely finished by next year, Starostka said.
Cooper, also a board member on the Amador Museum Foundation, said a positive aspect is that the building has been determined to be structurally sound, which is one less expense. She said she'll continue work with students on a volunteer basis, as her schedule allows, but the project still needs financial contributions.
"We're going to restore, room by room, until we get it done, and we need donations to help with that effort," she said.
Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443.
If you go
•What: "If These Walls Could Talk," an Amador Hotel restoration fundraiser.
•When: 6 to 9 p.m. March 31
•Where: historic Amador Hotel, 180 W. Amador Ave., Las Cruces
•Admission: Cost is $25 per person; capacity is up to 250 people.
•Tickets: (575) 522-1232.
