Who built the Mysterious Staircase at Loretto Chapel?
Visit Santa Fe, New Mexico and you will hear of the mysterious staircase at Loretto Chapel. The story you will hear and can even find on the Web is that when the chapel was built in the 1800's, someone suddenly realized there was not room to build a staircase from the ground floor to the choir loft.
At that point a mysterious stranger appeared and with great skill built the staircase that spirals from the ground to open onto the choir loft today, and he did it without nails. Then he disappeared without anyone learning who he was.
Who was this mysterious stranger? The first time I visited the chapel, I heard several ideas, but the conclusion most often suggested was it had to be St. Joseph, Mary's husband. He was a carpenter.
The staircase is a marvel of engineering and craftsmanship. That cannot be denied as this photo taken by Ian Harris of Copenhagen, Denmark, on a visit to Santa Fe this past summer shows.
But, I have a flash for you as to the identity of the craftsman who built that staircase.
I found out from a small item in “New Mexico” magazine. The writer said she'd searched high and low for the craftsman's name, and then finally found it among some newspaper obituaries.
The obituary identified him as a certain Frenchy Rojas. It said he'd created the spiral staircase at Loretto Chapel and then some other fine piece of wood work in at another building, perhaps in Albuquerque.
The obituary said after crafting those pieces in northern New Mexico he ended up in Dog Canyon, which is south of Albuquerque. There, the obituary said, he was murdered, and, that fact, that he'd been murdered was featured first in the obituay. There were other details that I have forgotten. One vague recollection is he belonged to some French society along the lines of the Masons, as best I can recall it.
So, if you visit Santa Fe and Loretto Chapel, admire the craftsmanship, but also know you are probably one of the few people among the admirers around you who knows who built it. Thanks for the great photo, Ian.
At that point a mysterious stranger appeared and with great skill built the staircase that spirals from the ground to open onto the choir loft today, and he did it without nails. Then he disappeared without anyone learning who he was.
Who was this mysterious stranger? The first time I visited the chapel, I heard several ideas, but the conclusion most often suggested was it had to be St. Joseph, Mary's husband. He was a carpenter.
The staircase is a marvel of engineering and craftsmanship. That cannot be denied as this photo taken by Ian Harris of Copenhagen, Denmark, on a visit to Santa Fe this past summer shows.
But, I have a flash for you as to the identity of the craftsman who built that staircase.
I found out from a small item in “New Mexico” magazine. The writer said she'd searched high and low for the craftsman's name, and then finally found it among some newspaper obituaries.
The obituary identified him as a certain Frenchy Rojas. It said he'd created the spiral staircase at Loretto Chapel and then some other fine piece of wood work in at another building, perhaps in Albuquerque.
The obituary said after crafting those pieces in northern New Mexico he ended up in Dog Canyon, which is south of Albuquerque. There, the obituary said, he was murdered, and, that fact, that he'd been murdered was featured first in the obituay. There were other details that I have forgotten. One vague recollection is he belonged to some French society along the lines of the Masons, as best I can recall it.
So, if you visit Santa Fe and Loretto Chapel, admire the craftsmanship, but also know you are probably one of the few people among the admirers around you who knows who built it. Thanks for the great photo, Ian.
Labels: Loretto Chapel Santa Fe
posted by Travel Ohio and beyond at
7:51 PM
1 Comments:
One of my favorite places of Ohio, Santa Fe is mysterious staircase. I just love visiting and spending time here.
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