Witter Bynner and His Adobe Abode
The Inn of the Turquoise Bear is a stylish bed-and-breakfast hotel that is the former longtime home of Witter Bynner (1881-1968), a poet, essayist, and scholar who attracted a who’s who of creative celebrities, especially writers, to big parties and long stays in his house, where he lived for decades.
Before visiting there, we read the history page of the Inn’s website, which pointed to writers, artists, and performers who visited there, including D.H. Lawrence, Willa Cather, Ansel Adams, Igor Stravinsky, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, Aldous Huxley, Clara Bow, Errol Flynn, Rita Hayworth, Lynn Riggs, Martha Graham, Robert Oppenheimer, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Thornton Wilder, among others. Rooms at the Inn are named for these friends and colleagues of Bynner, and several were built with private entrances so his guests could come and go with ease.
It has been said that the fortune Bynner earned as a publisher of O. Henry, when Bynner lived in New York, gave him much of the means to build this charming estate in Santa Fe. (Learn about O. Henry on his North Carolina and Texas pages.) Founded in 1610, Santa Fe remains one of the largest cities in New Mexico with plenty to see and do.
His Poetry
A list of Witter Bynner’s poems can be found here: https://poets.org/poems/witter-bynner.
More To Do
Pick up a treat at local hangout Kakawa Chocolate House (www.kakawachocolates.com) and relax at this peaceful oasis close to the hub of Santa Fe. Also see our pages of literary sites in Santa Fe connected to Lew Wallace and Georgia O’Keeffe. These places represent a long and important span of New Mexico history.
The Inn of the Turquoise Bear is the fourth stop on our New Mexico Author Adventures Trail.
Patricia Smart
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