George R.R. Martin<\/a>\u2018s corner of the realm \u2014 otherwise known as Santa Fe, New Mexico \u2014 power looks more like a movie theater, a short-haul railway line, a bookstore and a bar. And while winter may not be coming anytime soon, a surprising number of business ventures are.<\/p>\n\n\tOver the past decade, the 76-year-old Game of Thrones <\/em>creator has been building his own offscreen empire \u2014 a quirky, culture-loving kingdom in northern New Mexico, where he owns or funds a growing number of institutions. There\u2019s the Jean Cocteau Cinema, the beloved art house theater he rescued in 2013. There\u2019s Meow Wolf, the psychedelic art collective he helped fund (and house, in an old abandoned bowling alley). And there\u2019s the historic Santa Fe Southern Railway, which he\u2019s not only brought back to life but turned into something of a movie star.<\/p>\n\n\tMartin may have left Westeros unfinished, but in this sunbaked enclave, his world-building continues apace \u2014 one real estate acquisition at a time.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI fell in love with Santa Fe when I first visited in 1978 \u2014 you can get in a car and get anywhere in 10 minutes,\u201d he\u2019s said. A year later, newly divorced and ready to write full-time, Martin left his teaching job at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and relocated to the high desert, where he would start hammering out his epic saga about dragons, dynasties and deeply questionable family trees \u2014 the one that would make him Santa Fe\u2019s most famous scribe.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn 2013, he purchased the Jean Cocteau Cinema \u2014 a long-closed, single-screen movie house in the city\u2019s Railyard District \u2014 which he reopened as a venue for film screenings, author events and game nights. Then, right next door, he opened Beastly Books, offering sci-fi and fantasy titles, rare editions and plenty of GRRM swag. Tucked just behind it is Milk of the Poppy, a medieval apothecary-themed cocktail bar. All three are owned by Martin\u2019s Highgarden Entertainment.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn true Martin fashion, things only got more sprawling. He bought a shuttered bowling alley on the south side of town \u2014 a steal at $2.7 million \u2014 and turned it over to what he called \u201ca group of young, weird-ass Santa Fe artists.\u201d Those weirdos would go on to become the founding collective behind Meow Wolf, now a national immersive art phenomenon. \u201cNone of the galleries wanted them because they were too offbeat,\u201d Martin recalls. \u201cThey took me down to the bowling alley, explained their vision of other dimensions and weird aliens and pressed all my buttons.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tGeorge R.R. Martin in his adopted home kingdom.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJane Phillips\/The Santa Fe New Mexican\/AP Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\tIn 2020, Martin joined an investor group to revive the historic Santa Fe Southern Railway. \u201cWe\u2019re bringing the railroad back,\u201d he announced on his blog (called Not a Blog) after the purchase. \u201cNot just as a means of transportation, but as a whole new kind of adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tToday, the line runs themed trips between Santa Fe and Lamy, a tiny rail town about 18 miles southeast, and includes holiday excursions with onboard music and immersive performances. Two of its vintage train cars have even made it to the big screen: Both were featured in Christopher Nolan\u2019s Oppenheimer<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\tHis partner on the project, Bill Banowsky, gives Martin full credit for the railway vision: \u201cIt was his idea to paint one locomotive like the head of a wolf, one like the head of a dragon,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n\tComing up, Martin is also about to break ground on a city-street backlot for his Stagecoach Foundation, the nonprofit he founded in 2017 to provide free film and TV job training for New Mexicans and to attract production to the region.<\/p>\n
\n\tOf course, not everyone in Santa Fe is thrilled about Martin\u2019s growing influence. Some locals worry that the influx of tourists and GRRM fandom is helping to drive up congestion in a town already struggling with gentrification. And then there are the readers who would really just prefer he finish The Winds of Winter<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\t\u201cI just want to make one thing clear,\u201d he tells THR<\/em>. \u201cWhile I\u2019m an investor and an owner in some of these things, I do not run them on a daily basis. Every time I announce something on the internet, there\u2019s all this crazy talk. \u2018Oh, he\u2019s giving up writing the books!\u2019 But I\u2019m still writing. The [sixth] novel, the \u2018Dunk and Egg\u2019 story \u2014 those are what I\u2019m focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tStill, to many residents, Martin\u2019s presence has helped preserve and revive some of Santa Fe\u2019s cultural landmarks. Which is exactly what you\u2019d expect from a man who knows a thing or two about building kingdoms \u2014 and keeping them alive.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tYou\u2019re Not in King\u2019s Landing Anymore\t<\/h2>\n \n\tA brief tour of George R.R. Martin\u2019s Santa Fe attractions<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\t1. SKY RAILWAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t430 West Manhattan Ave.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\u201cSometimes gunslingers raid the train,\u201d says Martin of his rolling theater. \u201cOccasionally, one of our riders is murdered and the rest have to decide who did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEddie Moore\/Albuquerque Journal\/ZUMA Press Wire<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\t2. MEOW WOLF\u2019S HOUSE OF ETERNAL RETURN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t1352 Rufina Circle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tOtherwise known as the defunct bowling alley Martin purchased and rented to a group of \u201cweird-ass\u201d artists.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tZUMA Press, Inc.\/Alamy<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\t3. JEAN COCTEAU CINEMA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t418 Montezuma Ave.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tSince Martin restored the 49-year-old theater in 2013, it\u2019s done more than screen movies \u2014 it\u2019s hosted drag shows, magic acts and author events.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJennifer Wright\/Alamy Stock Photo<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\t4. MILK OF THE POPPY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t418 Montezuma Ave.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tTry the MOTP Milk Punch, made with pisco, white Armagnac, coconut matcha and turmeric cream.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\t5. BEASTLY BOOKS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t418 Montezuma Ave.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tBest place to pick up an autographed Game of Thrones <\/em>novel, or a plush dragon. <\/p>\n\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLuis S\u00e1nchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican\/AP Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\tThis story appeared in the July 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Forget dragons and dire wolves. In George R.R. Martin\u2018s corner of the realm \u2014 otherwise known as Santa Fe, New Mexico \u2014 power looks more like a movie theater, a short-haul railway line, a bookstore and a bar. And while winter may not be coming anytime soon, a surprising number of business ventures are. Over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[2453,723,2451,2450,2449,2130,2452],"class_list":{"0":"post-2212","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fashion","8":"tag-attractions","9":"tag-george","10":"tag-kingdom","11":"tag-martins","12":"tag-r-r","13":"tag-santa","14":"tag-top"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2214,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212\/revisions\/2214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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