The Lutz Building
401 12th Street, Carrizozo, NM, USA
about the Lutz Building…
Built for sheep rancher/merchant Henry Lutz in 1917, this was designed using Ancho brick by prominent architect I. H. Rapp of Trinidad, CO for $35,000. Rapp was responsible for many commercial buildings in Trinidad, Raton and NM. When Lutz went broke in the 1920s, Frank English bought the building and operated a hardware store throughout the Depression and World War II years. The upstairs was used for dances and had a roller skating rink. Frank's son Fred continued the business until the 1980s. In the early 2000s, it was used as a hardware store.
The interior still boasts a pressed tin ceiling, old hardwood floors, a mezzanine/office typical of the period and full basement. The building now houses New Mexico's largest photo gallery specializing in New Mexico artists' work and has aristst studios on the 2nd floor.