Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 with 278 contributing buildings, the Don Gaspar Historic District spreads out in front of you, a largely residential patch of Santa Fe. Much of what you see was built up in the early-20th century, although the area was subdivided in the late 19th century and a few buildings date from that earlier time. The neighborhood takes its name from Don Gaspar Ortiz y Alarid, a "merchant prince" who traveled on wagon trains between Santa Fe and Chihuahua, later traveling to Saint Louis, Missouri for trading; he donated the property around the present location of Don Gaspar Avenue, which forms the heart of this district.
It is unclear how Ortiz y Alarid obtained possession of the land grant property. The oldest houses here are simple one-story adobe structures, reminders of the district's layered past. The Don Gaspar Historic District expands south from the State Capitol as part of the Santa Fe South Capitol area.
Look now toward the one-story adobe houses and down the avenue that gives the district its name, with Paseo de Peralta to the north, the Old Santa Fe Trail to the east, and Houghton Street marking the southern edge.