| There are few things more beautiful the spiral stairs | | | | nine days, conducting a novena. They prayed to St. |
| and curved stairs. They often have elegant lines with a | | | | Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. For eight days |
| graceful ascension. Some say the earliest known spiral | | | | nothing happened. On the ninth day a stranger arrived |
| stair case was built in 480-470 BC at Temple A in the | | | | at the church looking for work. With him he had a |
| Greek Colony in Selinante, Sicily. There are many | | | | donkey loaded down with carpentry tools. He said he |
| famous spiral staircases. The Round Tower in | | | | could build a stair case but would need a couple |
| Copenhagen Denmark is less of a staircase and more | | | | barrels of water to soak the wood. |
| of a ramp that rises to an observatory. It was | | | | There are reports that he worked for 6 months. |
| commissioned in 1637 and is wide enough for | | | | Others claim it was done much more quickly. The |
| carriages, as Tsar Peter the Great and Catharine I | | | | result was a wooden spiral staircase the made a |
| proved on a visit to Denmark. The Vatican museum | | | | double helix on its way to the loft. It was constructed |
| has a double helix of some renown. It is often | | | | using only wooden dowels, no nails or glue, and had 33 |
| photographed. One of the most fascinating of all spiral | | | | steps leading to the choir loft. The Sisters of Loretto |
| staircases is the one in a small chapel in Santa Fe. | | | | were so pleased they made a celebratory dinner for |
| The Loretto Chapel was built as part of the Academy | | | | the carpenter. He didn't show. He disappeared without |
| of Our Lady of Light. It was begun in 1873 under the | | | | a trace. He didn't receive his pay. The Sisters ran an |
| guiding hand of the French Architect, Antione Mouly | | | | ad in the paper looking for him, but he was gone. |
| and his son. Mouly had been involved in the renovation | | | | There are other curious facts. The wood used for the |
| of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, and the Loretto Chapel | | | | staircase is somewhat of a mystery. It hasn't been |
| was modeled after it on a smaller scale. Before it was | | | | identified. Some say it is made from an extinct species. |
| completed, the architect died. There are some reports | | | | None of the lumber yards had any bill of sales for the |
| that he was shot by the Bishops nephew over a | | | | Loretto Chapel in regards to the staircase. The double |
| woman. In any case, left uncompleted was the access | | | | helix was a master piece of workmanship. It had no |
| to the choir loft which was 22 feet in the air. It is | | | | center support. Spiral staircases need to have a |
| believed that the original idea may have been to | | | | support structure, a center pole or attachment to fixed |
| provide a ladder for entry. This did not appeal to the | | | | objects like walls. Some speculate the inner radius of |
| nuns. They requested carpenters to offer their | | | | the stair case was narrow enough to act as its own |
| suggestions. All said it was impossible. The chapel was | | | | support. Still, it is a marvel of craftsmanship and the |
| too small to build an adequate stairway. | | | | Lorretto Staircase continues to awe visitors. |
| This is where the legend begins. The nuns prayed for | | | | |