Ruidoso Lookout Tower

Completed by the U.S. Forest Service in 1940, Ruidoso Lookout Tower stands in Lincoln National Forest near Ruidoso in Lincoln County, New Mexico. This 30-foot Aermotor fire lookout, with metal catwalks and a 14-by-14-foot wooden cab, was built to watch for forest fires. As Ruidoso expanded to surround the site, the tower remained in active use by detecting urban and suburban fires instead, illustrating the changing landscape around it. The tower is listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties. It is also linked to Herbert Lee Traylor’s observation of the Manhattan Project’s first nuclear detonation at Trinity Site.

Ruidoso, New Mexico · United States