This was an interesting piece of public art dedicated for the town's 400th birthday, the " First Contact Socorro Wheel of History" :

" Using the symbolic wheel image, important in Socorro's history from the Carreta to the railroad, this sculpture depicts Socorro's history from its beginning in 1598 when the FIRST CONTACT was made between Juan De Onate and the Piro Indians. Images included from the town's history are petroglyphs, the Franciscan Friars, the horno, food, plants, native birds and animals, important buildings including the San Miguel Mission, the mills, the importance of education to Socorro and contemporary images including the National Radio Observatory."

I ate lunch at the Socorro Springs Brewing Company.

I tried one of the wood-oven pizzas, but I was not too impressed.

The San Miguel Mission was built to convert the Piro Indians during the 1600's.

Here is a straight-on view of the Mission.

This shrine to the Virgin Mary was located in a courtyard next to the church.

Some of the sidewalks in Socorro, like this one just east of the mission, were built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930's.