1. Mine Shaft Tavern
City: Madrid, NM
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (505) 473-0743
Address: 2846 Hwy. 14
Description: The Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid, about 25 miles south of town off Highway 14, is an authentic tavern in the once-booming coal-mining village of Madrid (pronounced MAA-drid, oddly enough). Madrid turned into a ghost town after it fell on hard times in the 1950s but was reborn in the 1970s, when it began attracting artists who converted many of the old buildings into galleries and shops. New owners bought the tavern in 2007, but it is almost unchanged from when it was built in 1946 by Madrid founder Oscar Huber for his coal miners. The rustic room has a 40-foot lodgepole-pine bar—the longest stand-up bar in New Mexico. The clientele is as eclectic as the decor. You’ll find everyone from artists and old hippies to cowboys and Indians, Vietnam vets and yuppies, tourists and commuters, skiers and couch potatoes, and even a few ghosts. Except for the ghosts, they come to drink, to eat what the owners claim is the best burger west of the Mississippi, and to dance to live music on the weekends. Open until 11 p.m. on weeknights and until midnight on weekends.
2. Engine House Theatre
City: Madrid, NM
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (505) 438-3780
Address: 2846 Hwy. 14
Description: For unadulterated fun, it’s hard to top the Madrid melodrama. Since 1982, the company based in the old theater next to the Mine Shaft Tavern has drawn enthusiastic crowds to cheer for the heroes and hiss at the bad guys. Bags of marshmallows to toss at the villain are included with admission. The plays are 1800s-style melodramas that fit in well with this old one-time mining town. The season runs weekends from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. Curtain time is 3 and 8 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday and Monday holidays, with matinees only during October. Allow at least a half hour to get to the theater from Santa Fe. The drive from Santa Fe, along what’s known as the Turquoise Trail because of the historic turquoise mines here, will take you past the village of Cerrillos. Madrid, an old mining town, is now rich with unique shops and galleries. Leave early and poke around a little.