Visit the Gallup Cultural Center / New Mexico

The Gallup Cultural Center was a project put together by the Southwest Indian Foundation and the city of Gallup New Mexico. If your western travels take you through Gallup you will want to add this venue to your trip planner. You'll find the Gallup Cultural Center filled with exhibits and information about the people who inhabit this part of New Mexico.

Gallup Cultural Center

In addition, the Gallup Cultural Center serves as a compete community center with it's Gallup Visitors Center, the Storyteller Museum and the Master's Gallery. There is also a gift shop and cafe.

The Southwest Indian Foundation

The Southwest Indian Foundation was started in 1968 by Fr. Dunstan Schmidlin.The overall goal of the foundation is first, to recognize the great human potential of each individual; and second, to offer those in need a hand - not a handout.

The SWIF assistance is strictly limited to Native Americans - with priority given to the elderly, handicapped, and families with dependent children. Along with the Navajo people, we also serve the Zuni, Hopi, and other pueblo tribes of the area. According to the SWIF website their services include: Substantial school grants and individual tuition assistance, homes for battered women and children, home repair and wood stove installation, Christmas food baskets for needy families, alcohol counseling, and emergency assistance in the areas of food, clothing, heating fuel, and temporary shelter. For more information about the Southwest Indian Foundation see their website at www.southwestindian.com

Gallup Cultural Center Amtrak Station

The Gallup Cultural Center

The Gallup Cultural Center resides inside the restored 1918 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway station. This was also a Fred Harvey House. In 1923 Santa Fe Railroad architect Mary Colter's fabulous El Navajo hotel was added on to the depot on it's west side. Mary Coulter is known to have designed most of the Fred Harvey Houses throughout the west. The hotel was demolished during the 1950's to help widen Route 66.

In 1996 the City of Gallup turned to the Southwest Indian Foundation requesting the Foundation take possession of the historic and newly renovated Sante Fe Depot. The City asked the Foundation to turn the building into a Cultural Center. Today, this fine cultural center draws thousands of tourists annually. It's the perfect place to gain knowledge about the Native American people and the region.


Gallup Cultural Center Exhibits and Programs

With a focus on American Indian culture, arts, and crafts, rotating exhibits from local artists fill the galleries, while educational tours of the area are also available. A 10ft-tall bronze sculpture of a Navajo code-talker shown in this article honors the sacrifices made by many men of the Navajo Reservation during WWII. A small theatre screens films about Chaco Canyon and the Four Corners region. Both of these sites make great additions to your travels around this part of New Mexico.

In the summer there are live Indian dances every night at 7:00pm.

See the Western Trips articles on the links below... 

Visit Red Rock State Park just a few miles east of Gallup NM

Gallups' Historic El Rancho Hotel

A Visit to Winslow Arizona

The Storyteller Museum

The Storyteller Museum within the Gallup Cultural Center allows visitors to explore trains, weaving, sandpainting, Historic Route 66, silversmithing, and more. Included are in-depth audio interviews with experts.

Entrance to Gallup Cultural Center on old Rte 66

Scenery at Red Rock State Park

Gallery of the Masters

The exclusive "Masters Gallery" contains the art of the "Reunion of the Masters"; and in keeping with their mission, 25% of all sales go back into the Children’s Art Scholarship and School Awards program.

The "Reunion of the Masters" is a non-profit organization made up of a group of world-renowned Native American artists from the Four Corners area. They are painters, sculptors, weavers, potters, and more from the various tribes in our area

Visiting Gallup New Mexico

Gallup New Mexico represents everything that makes a New Mexico vacation a fun experience. Historic structures like the El Rancho Hotel, the Gallup Cultural Center described in this article, mountain biking and hiking trails and Native American products are all found in and around Gallup.

Native American art exhibit

A very easy to reach destination, Gallup is located along Interstate 40 about a 2 hour and 10 minute drive west of Alburquerque and about a 2 hour and 50 minute derive east of Flagstaff Arizona.

Add a trip up to Window Rock Arizona as part of your Gallup visit. Window Rock is just 26 miles northwest of Gallup and can be reached in about 30 minutes. Window Rock Arizona is the capital of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation consists of the largest Native American tribe in North America. The town is a great venue for educational, historical and cultural enrichment for the entire family

The Gallup Cultural Center is located at 201 E. Historic Rte. 66

(Article and photos copyright 2014 Western Trips)


View Larger Map