| | [[File:Loretto spiral staircase with choir.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Without any supporting beam, the staircase supports an entire choir.]] | | [[File:Loretto spiral staircase with choir.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Without any supporting beam, the staircase supports an entire choir.]] |
| | A spiral staircase having two 360-degree turns at Loretto Chapel in [[Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico]], was built without any support, nails, or the use of any power tools. It does two full turns to reach a [[choir]] loft 22 feet above. Its builder was an unknown visitor to the Chapel around 1880, who worked without pay and apparently used spruce wood not available in the area. This helix staircase was featured on an ''Unsolved Mysteries'' television episode, and is widely discussed on the [[internet]]. Diane Ladd, an Academy Award-nominated actress and the mother of actress Laura Dern, starred in a movie about this entitled ''The Staircase''.<ref>See also the book ''Loretto and the Miraculous Staircase'', by Alice Bullock.</ref> | | A spiral staircase having two 360-degree turns at Loretto Chapel in [[Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico]], was built without any support, nails, or the use of any power tools. It does two full turns to reach a [[choir]] loft 22 feet above. Its builder was an unknown visitor to the Chapel around 1880, who worked without pay and apparently used spruce wood not available in the area. This helix staircase was featured on an ''Unsolved Mysteries'' television episode, and is widely discussed on the [[internet]]. Diane Ladd, an Academy Award-nominated actress and the mother of actress Laura Dern, starred in a movie about this entitled ''The Staircase''.<ref>See also the book ''Loretto and the Miraculous Staircase'', by Alice Bullock.</ref> |