| | A gravity-defying spiral staircase at Loretto Chapel, a half-mile from the Capitol in [[Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico]], was built without any support, nails, or the use of any power tools. It does two full 360-degree 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 used wood unavailable 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 gravity-defying spiral staircase at Loretto Chapel, a half-mile from the Capitol in [[Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico]], was built without any support, nails, or the use of any power tools. It does two full 360-degree 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 used wood unavailable 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> |
| | {{cquote|Three mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: the identity of its builder, the type of wood used, and the physics of its construction.<ref>https://www.lorettochapel.com/info/staircase</ref>}} | | {{cquote|Three mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: the identity of its builder, the type of wood used, and the physics of its construction.<ref>https://www.lorettochapel.com/info/staircase</ref>}} |
| − | There are precisely 33 steps in this helix staircase - apparently one for each year in the life of [[Jesus]].<ref>http://www.vcatholic.com/articles/supernatural-staircase-saint-joseph/</ref> '''''Almost certainly the builder was an [[angel]]'''''. | + | There are precisely 33 steps in this helix staircase - apparently one for each year in the life of [[Jesus]].<ref>http://www.vcatholic.com/articles/supernatural-staircase-saint-joseph/</ref> '''''Almost certainly its builder was an [[angel]]'''''. |
| | This spiral staircase is analogous to the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]], which is written in perfect, magnificent [[Greek]] by an unknown author. Today the spiral staircase is a marvel of carpentry that would be exceedingly difficult to duplicate even with the use of modern power tools and metal, let alone with merely pegs and glue by a single carpenter in 1880. | | This spiral staircase is analogous to the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]], which is written in perfect, magnificent [[Greek]] by an unknown author. Today the spiral staircase is a marvel of carpentry that would be exceedingly difficult to duplicate even with the use of modern power tools and metal, let alone with merely pegs and glue by a single carpenter in 1880. |