Stan & Zu
Davis

TOWN AND COMMUNITY BUILDERS

Honored July, 1991

Stan & Zulema 'Zu' Davis

Stan Davis, the founder of Davis & Associates, General Contractors, is known for the many buildings he constructed in Santa Fe and northern New Mexico, as well as his work on the reconstruction of many historic places.

And both he and his wife, Zulema (Zu), are known for their civic generosity and volunteer work on behalf of the community.

Meeting the architect John Gaw Meem when he was only fourteen years old no doubt influenced Stan's future direction. His profession eventually led him to collaborate with Meem on significant projects, such as the 1974 restoration of the Santa Fe Plaza. Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1923, Stan moved to Gallup with his family in 1937. After graduating from the University of New Mexico he became a registered engineer. In 1946, he went to Guam to help rebuild the islands after World War II. He worked on the construction of the naval base. Then, in 1948 he moved to Santa Fe and the following year married Zu, a "local girl." Santa Fe is where Stan and Zu made their home and raised their children.

When a car smashed the portal of the Palace of the Governors, Davis & Associates made the repairs. Stan also refurbished the historic Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, built the Benedictine Monastery in Pecos, and while helping construct the Christ in the Desert Monastery in Abiquiu met Thomas Merton.

By extending financing to the Children's Museum and St. Elizabeth's Shelter, he assisted several of the city's nonprofit and service organizations in obtaining their buildings. All in all, Stan has constructed more buildings in Santa Fe than any other contractor; in addition, he built much of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs as well as postwar housing in Los Alamos.