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[[File:Loretto staircase.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The helix staircase today with two 360-degree turns, and no supporting column.]]

[[File:Loretto staircase.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The helix staircase today with two 360-degree turns, and no supporting column.]]

[[File:Loretto spiral staircase with choir.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Without any supporting column, the staircase supports an entire choir.]]

[[File:Loretto spiral staircase with choir.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Without any supporting column, the staircase supports an entire choir.]]

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. The staircase is held together by wooden pegs (with no glue).<ref>[https://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase The Loretto Chapel], Loretto Chapel website</ref> 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, screws, or the use of any power tools. The staircase is held together by wooden pegs (with no glue).<ref>[https://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase The Loretto Chapel], Loretto Chapel website</ref> 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 its 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]]'''''.