Old Town is the heart of Albuquerque's heritage. The first Spanish families settled near the banks of the Rio Grande in 1706. Thats right April of 2006 marks Albuquerque's Tricentennial! (Click on the logo below to view all of the special activities scheduled throughout 2005 and 2006.) Albuquerque was a colonial farming village and a military outpost along the Camino Real between Chihuahua and Santa Fe. The village formed in the traditional Spanish pattern of a central plaza surrounded by a church, homes and government buildings. Some of the old homes are still standing and many have been renovated into businesses. Some of the things that come to mind when you think of Albuquerque's Old Town; 300 years old (Spanish era, April 2006), RT66, Will Rogers Highway, "The Mother Road" (80 years old in 2006), turquoise, sterling silver, clothing, a modern generation of contemporary fashion and arts inspired by the Native American tradition of hand crafting that spans millennia!