Every fall The Taos News features honorees exemplifying “Tradiciones” or the traditions of Taos. This year the “Raíces” (roots) section featured the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. Writer Teresa Dovalpage captured its essence in her opening sentence: “Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1991, the Mabel Dodge Luhan House

Every October, as I gaze at pockets of golden cottonwoods stretching across the Taos Valley, I liken their crowns, reaching up to embrace the sky, to tethered balloons about to lift off into the atmosphere. As I watched the ascent of this past weekend’s balloon festival, the notion seemed not so far fetched. The vibrant, multi-colored inflatables appeared to rise out of the trees.

The staff at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House deeply regrets the recent passing of our beloved Karen Sue Young.

We will miss her not only for her leadership and guidance, but also for her friendship, wisdom, and humor. Our heartfelt love goes out to her family and friends.

There is no doubt whatever about the influence of architecture and structure upon human character and action. We make our buildings and afterwards they make us. They regulate the course of our lives.

Winston Churchill spoke these words before the English Architectural Association in 1924. So powerful was this statement that two decades later, upon requesting the exact replication in rebuilding the bombed-out Parliament building after World War II, he declared: “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.”