George R.R. Martin can’t build castle library in New Mexico

By: The Associated Press, AP Member Posted: 7:23 AM CDT Friday, Sep. 11, 2020 Last Modified: 7:24 AM CDT Friday, Sep. 11, 2020

Advertise with us

SANTA FE, N.M. - “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin won't be able to build a seven-sided, castle-style library at his compound in Santa Fe that drew objections from neighbours.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

SANTA FE, N.M. - “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin won't be able to build a seven-sided, castle-style library at his compound in Santa Fe that drew objections from neighbours.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/09/2020 (2212 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SANTA FE, N.M. – “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin won’t be able to build a seven-sided, castle-style library at his compound in Santa Fe that drew objections from neighbours.

The city’s Historic Districts Review Board on Tuesday denied a request to allow Martin to exceed the building height limit in the historic district where he lives, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. The project included a roof deck and an elevator tower.

“It is a medieval castle, and I don’t understand how we could possibly approve it in this style,” board member Frank Katz said.

FILE - In this May 8, 2019, file photo, author George R.R. Martin poses at the premiere of the film "Tolkien," at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. The "Game of Thrones" author won't be able to build a seven-sided, castle-style library at his compound in Santa Fe, N.M. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the city's Historic Districts Review Board denied a request Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, to allow Martin to exceed the building height limit in the historic district where he lives. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Mark Graham lives south of the property and said residents couldn’t “support having a castle in the neighbourhood.”

“With the notoriety of Mr. Martin and ‘Game of Thrones,’ we absolutely fear that our neighbourhood will become the next treasure hunt, that his fans will be looking to find the castle that’s in the middle of Santa Fe,” Graham said.

Officials also denied a similar proposal early this year, saying the project didn’t meet height and style standards and didn’t fit in with the character of the historic district.

Alexander Dzurec with the architecture firm Autotroph Inc. filed the application for the height exemption and said Tuesday that the library was intended to house “a very sizable collection” of literature and “other collectibles.”

More than 40 neighbours had signed a letter urging the Historic Districts Review Board to reject the request.

Guy Gronquist signed the letter and read it at the meeting, saying the architect had gone to “great pains to draw comparisons with existing medieval-style structures in Santa Fe.” But those buildings aren’t surrounded by houses, he said.

“The fact remains that the proposed building is still a prominent castle in the middle of a residential neighbourhood in Santa Fe,” the letter said. “It WILL BE VISIBLE.”