Situated at the base of a sheer, 370-foot-tall sandstone mesa that holds Sky City Pueblo, the new $15 million, 40,000-square-foot Sky City Cultural Center and Haak’u Museum showcases the history, art and lifestyle of the Acoma people—a riveting remnant of ancient Native American culture about an hour west of Albuquerque, N.M.
Meeting spaces within the cultural center are varied and dramatic. An unforgettable second-floor boardroom for 14 has eye-popping views of the storied Enchanted Mesa to the east, Mt. Taylor on the north and Acoma pueblo views on the south. A corner kiva fireplace adds to the mood, and the cultural center’s 67-seat theater offers surround sound, a stage, theater lighting, and contemporary AV features. Other rooms offer Internet access, projection screens, sinks, and decorative stone accents. The Yaak’a Cafe, offering indigenous fare, seats 65 and connects with the outdoor Dance Plaza that puts guests in full view of the high Acoma pueblo.
Sky City Pueblo, now a national historic landmark, has been the center of Acoma culture for 2,000 years and is the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America.
Private group tours may be arranged to the sky-high pueblo, where visitors enjoy strolls through the ancient streets and views of the 17th century San Esteban del Rey Mission.
Acoma Business Enterprises’ Sky City brand (888.759.2489; www.skycity.com) manages more than the new culture center and pueblo. Sky City Casino Hotel on Interstate 40 is about 20 minutes’ drive from the pueblo site, and offers sleeping rooms, suites, a conference center, Huwak’a Restaurant, and a casino where smoking is allowed but alcohol is not. The company also runs a trophy elk, bear, mountain lion, and pronghorn antelope hunting program on its 431,000-acre reservation.
Nearby natural attractions include El Malpais National Monument Sandstone Bluffs, a conservation area that preserves 114,277 acres of federal land. El Malpais means “the badlands,” but it has a unique beauty that consists of jagged spatter cones, a lava tube cave system that extends about 17 miles, and fragile ice caves.
“Mother Road” (Route 66) enthusiasts love to get off the interstate and wander what’s left of the famous road that used to carry motorists from Chicago to L.A. Remnants of the old motels, diners and gas stations still stand, so visitors can still get their kicks on Route 66.
