Loretto Chapel

207 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM
Phone:

East < GO > West

The Loretto Chapel was started in 1873 and completed in 1878. The stained glass was purchased from Paris in 1876. After it travel by ship to New Orleans it made it's way to St. Louis on a paddlewheel river boat, from there it hitched a ride west by freight wagon the Santa Fe Trail. No longer a church the Loretto Chapel is now a private museum.

The "miraculous" staircase was built between 1877 and 1881 and took over six months to build. This is a truly amazing bit of craftsmanship. From the Chapel website, the stairway ...

"... makes over two complete 360-degree turns, stands 20’ tall and has no center support. It rests solely on its base and against the choir loft. The risers of the 33 steps are all of the same height. Made of an apparently extinct wood species, it was constructed with only square wooden pegs without glue or nails."

Here's a view towards the front of the chapel.

The Inn & Spa at Loretto opened in 1975 and shares the grounds with the Loretto Chaple and was built on the Sister's of Loretto girls' school which closed in 1968.

Photo(s): 2015