First stop, the San Miguel Chapel - the oldest church in the USA (circa 1610-1626).
Most of the original building was destroyed during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. It was rebuilt in 1710. You can still see one of the original ceiling beams (it's the darkest one).
Next stop, the Loretto Chapel and its famous spiral staircase. The chapel was designed by French architect Antoine Mouly in the Gothic Revival style, complete with spires, buttresses, and stained glass windows imported from France. Although it was built on a much smaller scale, the chapel bears an obvious resemblance to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The architect died suddenly and it was only after much of the chapel was constructed that the builders realized it was lacking any type of stairway to the choir loft. Due to the chapel's small size, a standard staircase would have been too large. The Sisters of Loretto relate the story as follows:
Needing a way to get up to the choir loft the nuns prayed for St. Joseph's intercession for nine straight days. On the day after their novena ended a shabby looking stranger appeared at their door. He told the nuns he would build them a staircase but that he needed total privacy and locked himself in the chapel for three months. He used a small number of primitive tools including a square, a saw and some warm water and constructed a spiral staircase entirely of non-native wood. The identity of the carpenter is not known for as soon as the staircase was finally finished he was gone. Many witnesses, upon seeing the staircase, feel it was constructed by St. Joseph himself, as a miraculous occurrence.
The resulting staircase is an impressive work of carpentry. It ascends twenty feet, making two complete revolutions up to the choir loft without the use of nails or apparent center support. It has been surmised that the central spiral of the staircase is narrow enough to serve as a central beam. Nonetheless there was no attachment unto any wall or pole in the original stairs.
In 1887, 10 years after it was built, a railing was added and the outer spiral was fastened to an adjacent pillar. Instead of metal nails, the staircase was constructed using dowels or wooden pegs.
The legend claims that the mystery had never been satisfactorily solved as to who the carpenter was or where he got his lumber, and that there were no reports of anyone seeing lumber delivered or even seeing the man come and go while the construction was being done. Since he left before the Mother Superior could pay him, the Sisters of Loretto offered a reward for the identity of the man, but it was never claimed.
After the chapel, we walked over to the Palace of the Governors, which is now a museum. Local Native American artists set up their wares along the covered walkway.
We picked up a two museum pass - New Mexico History Museum and New Mexico Museum of Art. We really liked the courtyard of the Art Museum.
New Mexico has a long and storied history. Inhabited by indigenous peoples for centuries, New Mexico has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, including descendants of Spanish colonists and recent immigrants from Latin America. It also has the second-highest percentage of indigenous peoples, after Alaska. The various exhibits in the Art Museum reflect the cultural diversity.
You really can't go anywhere in Santa Fe without running into a church. Here is the Santuario De Guadalupe an 18th century former adobe church filled with carved images of saints, Italian Renaissance paintings, and Mexican baroque paintings.
This church just happens to be down the block from the world famous Cowgirl BBQ. This place comes highly recommended by Katie's friend, Mel. We are looking forward to visiting this establishment.
A trip to Santa Fe would not be complete without stopping to see the old rail cars from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, one of the larger railroads in the United States, chartered in February 1859. If you look carefully over the top of the train, you can see snow on the mountain top!
We are looking forward to getting out into the countryside tomorrow. Until then, chat at you later!
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