When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.
Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.
The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.
The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.
Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including "Unsolved Mysteries" and the television movie titled "The Staircase."
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| The staircase was originally built with no bannisters. They were added many years later. |
We went to the Plaza in Santa Fe and did some shopping. There are plenty of shops and one whole side of the Plaza, there are Indians set up with their wares along the sidewalk. Barb ended up buying a pendant and a necklace for her pendant. It is really nice.
We also took a day trip to Taos, NM. Mr. W decided that we would take what is called The Upper Road Scenic Drive to get there. It goes through a lot of little towns along the way and takes quite a bit longer to get there.. Take my advice, the normal, most taken route to Taos is WAY more scenic than the scenic drive. The only thing that was worth stopping for is an old church that was built in the 1700s and is still the same as it was back then. They do re-mud the walls periodically and were in the process of doing that when we stopped. But, it was a pretty cool thing to see.
When we got to Taos, we ate in the park on their Plaza. We spent some time walking through some of their shops, but all in all, we weren't real impressed with Taos. We headed back down the regular route, which was more scenic than the scenic route. We stopped at a pull off to take pictures of the river. You have to climb down a hill to get to the river. There was cactus everywhere and they were growing right on the trail. Mr. W had just told me to be careful and I had just gotten over 2 cacti growing on the trail. Barb was right behind us and all of a sudden we hear her fall and scream. She had fallen on a rock and landed in the cactus. It was horrible.
Once we figured out that she had not broken anything, we got her up and helped her get to the truck. She climbed in the backseat and took off her jeans which were full of cactus needles on one leg. She also had them in her leg. I started pulling them out of her leg and DWW started pulling them out of her jeans. Luckily we had ice in the ice chest and we put ice on her hip where she fell on the rock. When we got back to the trailer, I got my tweezers and started pulling out the rest of the needles. She was pretty bruised up and had red splotches all over her leg. It took her several days to get to feeling like herself again but it scared us all. We were glad to be leaving Santa Fe the next day.
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