loreto cathedral

the cathedral with the miraculous stairway. there is no center support pole in the cathedral's spiraling staircase. a feat of engineering or a miracle.... more information found on santa fe now states: As the good Sisters of Loretto were completing the construction of their tall chapel, they realized that the stairs to the choir balcony would either be too steep for them to climb or would need to begin outside the building! Legend has it that a stranger showed up at the door and offered to solve their problem. This carpenter built a spiral staircase with a floorboard made of a single piece of wood soaked in kerosene and slowly twisted to make two complete 360 degree turns. It is held together by wooden pegs. It has no central support column, but instead depends upon a spring-like suspension to displace gravity and support itself. The carpenter left without accepting payment. Despite some recent historical clues into the identity of the carpenter, locals still believe that it was actually Saint Joseph come to the assistance of the Sisters