Editing Española, New Mexico (section)

===Post-railroad===
With the beginnings of [[Manhattan Project]] in nearby [[Los Alamos, New Mexico|Los Alamos]], many locals eventually found jobs at the [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] (LANL). As much as nearly 9% of Española's population have been employed at LANL.{{full citation needed|date=July 2018}}

In the 1980s, many historical buildings and homes of historical significance were torn down for [[urban renewal]]. Española followed many other New Mexico cities in this trend, but in Española, it failed. More modern business began to move into town, but the growth of Española had now expanded east across the Rio Grande. Although several buildings of historical significance remain in downtown Española, many are unused or abandoned.{{cn|date=September 2023}} Strip malls became visible in Española, the first being the 'Big Rock shopping center', founded by oil tycoon Roy Honstein.

In the 1990s, a controversial plan to build a "plaza" and [[mission (station)|mission]] [[Church (building)|church]] where many historic buildings once stood was up for consideration. The city agreed to the plan, and locals supported the plaza. Although a plaza never existed in Española before the railroads, it was built to pay tribute to the Spanish culture in the area.<ref>''Española officials plan to revitalize downtown'', ''Santa Fe New Mexican'', 1997 {{full citation needed|date=June 2014}}</ref>