Possibly unpublished view of Las Vegas Hot Springs, looking west. The narrow gauge Santa Fe railroad can be seen lower left. 7 x 4 inches, some damage to the upper right corner. Montezuma Hot Springs, also known as Las Vegas Hot Springs, are a grouping of 20-to-30 thermal springs in the Montezuma unincorporated community of San Miguel County, near the town of Las Vegas, New Mexico. After New Mexico was annexed in 1846, the U.S. Army built a one-story adobe-constructed hospital at the site of the hot springs, that was later converted into a hotel in 1862, called The Adobe. In 1880, the Santa Fe Railroad created the Las Vegas Hot Springs Company; the company purchased the Hot Springs Hotel, the surrounding property and the bathhouses. In April 1882, the company completed a narrow-gauge track between Las Vegas and the hot springs. The company continued to develop the property and later that year opened the three-story Queen Anne styled Montezuma Hotel featuring 270 steam-heated rooms. In January, 1884, the hotel and bathhouses burned to the ground; within weeks the Santa Fe Railroad and the Chicago-based architectural firm of Daniel Burham and John Root were crafting designs for a new, grander hotel, completed in 1885. Within four months of opening, the second Montezuma Hotel burned, leaving the stone walls of the lower two floors. It was rebuilt for the third time, opening in August, 1886, and formally renamed the Phoenix Hotel, although the name Montezuma Hotel remained in use.Date: Country (if not USA): State: New MexicoCity: Las VegasProvenance: