This state capital, founded in 1610, embodies the sometimes conflicting heritages of Native American peoples, Spanish colonialism, American railroad expansion and automotive tourism that have created the Southwest. Although small (55,859) in the mid-1990s, Santa Fe has been a tourist center for decades, altering its cityscape to meet these expectations. In addition to cultural facilities from opera and colleges to museums and Indian handicrafts, it is also a gateway to outdoor recreation and artistic retreat, identified with nearby Taos. Santa Fe has also been taken as an emblem of Southwestern style in architecture, design and food.