Santa Fe is also home to the Loretto Chapel, which is home to the “Miracle Staircase”.  If you’ve ever watched bad tv, you might have seen it featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” or one of the many made-for-tv movies about it.

Here’s the scoop: When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft 22 feet above.  Carpenters were called in, but they all concluded that access would have to be via ladder, as stairs would interfere with the small interior space.  Legend says that the Sisters of the Chapel prayed to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters.  On the ninth and final day of prayer, a mysterious man appeared with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work.  Months later, a beautiful, circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks.

Whoever this guy was, he designed and built a staircase that was innovative for that time, and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.  The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support.  It’s also said that the staircase was built without nails – only wooden pegs…

A railing was added sometime later –  but in a picture of an earlier picture, you can see how the staircase originally looked:

I like the mini staircase that one of the congregants built.  Can you find its picture?