Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Clovis (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Clovis Depot Model Train Museum, Lyceum Theater, and Clovis Central Fire Station. Also, be sure to include Hillcrest Park Archway in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Clovis (New Mexico).
Table of Contents
Clovis Depot Model Train Museum
The Clovis station, also known as the Clovis Depot, was built in 1907. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.[1]
Address: 221 W 1st St, Clovis
Lyceum Theater
The Lyceum Theater of Clovis, New Mexico, located at 409 Main St. was built during 1919–20. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
It is a two-story concrete building with a vaulted roof which is hidden from street view by a stepped parapet. It has a 120-seat balcony. It was designed by the Boller Brothers architectural firm with elements of Mission Revival style. Its facade was altered in the 1940s to add "a modicum of modernistic details" and to add "neon on a wall-mounted sign above the marquee".
It is categorized in the NRHP nomination as having Moderne style.[2]
Address: 409 Main Street, Clovis
Clovis Central Fire Station
The Clovis Central Fire Station at 320 Mitchell St. in Clovis, Curry County, New Mexico is an Early Commercial-style building that was built in 1929 and reflected confidence in the city's prospects at the beginning of the Great Depression. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
It has also been known as the Clovis City Hall and Fire Station. In these functions it replaced the 1908 Clovis City Hall and Fire Station (which is also listed on the National Register). It is on the same block as the City Hall and Municipal Court building.
It is a two-story building with a truncated hipped roof and is partially flat-roofed. Its walls include blonde brick laid in running bond and light gray/tan concrete details.[3]
Hillcrest Park Archway
The Hillcrest Park Archway in Clovis, New Mexico is an archway over a roadway entering into Hillcrest Park which was built during 1939 to 1940. It was a Works Progress Administration project. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
"Improved by the Works Progress Administration" and "1935" shows on a photographed plaque on the archway; it seems that date refers to WPA improvements to the Hillcrest Park, not the archway itself.[4]
First Methodist Church of Clovis
Church building in Clovis. The First Methodist Church of Clovis is a historic church building at 622 Main Street in Clovis, New Mexico.
It was built in 1929 in a Classical Revival style and was added to the National Register in 1987.
It was originally known as Faith Christian Fellowship, and was constructed by church members at cost of $100,000. Its name was changed in 1930.[5]
Curry County Courthouse
The Curry County Courthouse in Clovis, New Mexico is a three-and-a-half-story Art Deco-style courthouse which was built in 1936. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
It was designed by architect Robert E. Merrell of Schaefer & Merrell architectural firm. It was expanded in 1954 with a two-story addition, also designed by Robert E. Merrell, over the site of the preceding 1910 courthouse.
Merrell also designed the NRHP-listed Hotel Clovis, at 210 Main St. in Clovis, and the NRHP-listed Roosevelt County Courthouse at 100 W. 2nd St. in Portales, New Mexico.[6]
State Theater
Theater in Clovis, New Mexico. The State Theater is an art deco-style theater in Clovis, New Mexico, which opened in 1936. It is still in use, although today it presents live musical acts rather than movies. It is one of three historic movie theaters in Clovis. The centerpiece of the marquee is a tall, vertical, cylindrical glass brick column.
In 2007 the theater, at 504 Main Street, was added to both the State and National Register of Historic Places listings in New Mexico (SR#1899, NRHP # 355920). It is one of two historic movie theaters in Clovis that are on the NRHP, the other being the Lyceum Theater at 409 Main Street. The nomination of the theater as part of the Clovis Railroad and Commercial Historic District includes the description of the State Theater by historian David Kammer as “the most richly detailed example of a modernistic style theater façade in New Mexico.”[7]
Old Clovis Post Office
The Old Clovis Post Office at 4th and Mitchell Sts. in Clovis, New Mexico is a former post office built in 1931. It includes elements of Classical Revival and Mission/Spanish Revival architecture. It has also served as the Clovis-Carver Public Library.
It is a two-story building with a hipped and flat roof, built on an ashlar sandstone basement. It has various tan shades of brick in its walls and its roof is light-brown and orange tile.
The building is significant as a public works project during the Great Depression.
It was built in the same year as the Hotel Clovis, which is also NRHP-listed.[8]