Montezuma castle

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Montezuma Castle

If you would like to visit the castle, see Tours of the Montezuma Castle below.

History
The Montezuma Castle, originally known as the Montezuma Hotel, was designed by noted Chicago architects John Root and Daniel Burnham for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, which had built a spur from nearby Las Vegas, NM to Montezuma in 1882. For a decade, the resort was a major attraction and visitors included Rutherford B. Hayes, Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman and Theodore Roosevelt before the Montezuma closed as a hotel in 1903.

The Castle was later owned by the Baptist Church and served as the site of its Montezuma College and then by the Catholic Church which ran a seminary for Mexican priests from 1937-1972. Once the Catholic Church closed the seminary, the Castle was left empty and became easy prey for a decade of vandalism. In 1981, the Armand Hammer Foundation bought the property in order to found the United States campus of the United World Colleges.

The Castle remained an empty but picturesque backdrop to the UWC-USA campus until 1997 when it garnered national attention. First, the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized the building as one of America's most endangered historic places. In 1998, the White House Millennium Council named it one of “America’s Treasures”, the first property west of the Mississippi to receive that honor.

In 1998, the UWC-USA launched its first capital campaign, Save the Castle-Serve the World, raising funds for scholarship endowments, program development, campus improvements and the restoration of the Montezuma Castle.

The Montezuma Castle Today
In 2000-2001, the building underwent a $10.5 million renovation, transforming it into an international center with student and faculty housing, dining facilities, offices, a campus store and student social center. The Castle also holds the Bartos Institute for the Constructive Engagement of Conflict.

While many of the building’s magnificent interior and exterior details were restored, modern treasures were added, including two eight-foot glass sculptures designed specifically for the Castle’s enormous dining room by artist Dale Chihuly.

Tours of the Montezuma Castle

The United World College is pleased to provide free, student-led tours of the Montezuma Castle. While the tour is free, donations to the college are certainly appreciated.

Tours begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. on selected Saturdays and last approximately one hour. They begin in front of the Old Stone Hotel on the lower campus.

The dates for the Fall 2006 tours are:

October 14
October 28
November 4
November 11
December 2
December 9

Please note that because the Castle serves as a residence for over 50 people and is used daily for classes, meetings and other college functions, it is not open to the public. All visitors must be accompanied by a College guide.