Mysterious staircase

[snopes]

Comment: Would like to know the real story about this

http://www.slideshare.net/pacho54/th...ous-staircase/

Slide 1: City of Santa Fé, in New Mexico, USA. A mystery of over 130 years
and attracting around 250 thousand visitors every year. Point of attention
: Loretto Chapel

Slide 2: What makes this chapel different from all others is that the
subject of the supposed miracle that took place in it is a Staircase

Slide 3: A chapel was constructed somewhere in hte 19th century. When it
was ready, the nuns found that there was no staircase built to take them
to the top level

Slide 4: They spent 9 days praying to St. Joseph, who was a carpenter.

Slide 5: On the last day, a stranger knocked at their door and said that
he was a carpenter who could help them build the staircase.

Slide 6: He constructed the staircase, all by himself, which was
considered to be the pride of carpentery.

Slide 7: None knew how the staircase could stand by itself as it did not
have a central support.

Slide 8: Then the carpenter, who did not use a single nail or glue to
construct this staircase, disappeared without even waiting for his
payment.

Slide 9: There was a rumour in the city of Santa Fé, that the carpenter
was St. Joseph himself ...

Slide 10: ...sent by Jesus Christ to attend to the nuns’ problem. Since
then, the staircase was known to be called “miraculous” and turned out to
be the site for pilgrimage.

Slide 11: There are 3 mysteries in this case, says the spokesman of the
chapel : the 1st mystery is that, until today, the identity of this man is
not known.

Slide 12: The second mystery – all the architects, engineers and
scientists say that they cannot understand how this staircase can balance
without any central support.

Slide 13: And the 3rd mystery – from where did the wood come? They have
checked and found out that the type of wood used to build the staircase
does not exist in the entire region

Slide 14: There is another detail that has just increased the belief in
the supposed miracle : The staircase has 33 steps, the age of Jesus
Christ.

[FloridaGirl]

I've actually seen this discussed on the telly, Dicovery channel or the Travel channel or one of those. Everything brought up in the slide show was brought up in the show. So, the stair case exists, but other than that, I have no clue.

[Silas Sparkhammer]

The Skeptical Inquirer also had an article on it.

"from where did the wood come? They have checked and found out that the type of wood used to build the staircase does not exist in the entire region"

This is Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hardly anything exists in the region. Everything had to be brought in; some miracle.

Silas

[Singing in the Drizzle]

Slide 4: They spent 9 days praying to St. Joseph, who was a carpenter.

Slide 5: On the last day, a stranger knocked at their door and said that
he was a carpenter who could help them build the staircase.

I'm sure that the message about needing needing stairs got out by some meens that was somewhat less than miraculous.

Slide 6: He constructed the staircase, all by himself, which was
considered to be the pride of carpentery.

So he constructed it by himself. Its not unheard of someone to do that.

Slide 7: None knew how the staircase could stand by itself as it did not have a central support.

So, while most spiral staircase have a central support, not all of them do. The ones with out a central support are usaly support by a out side wall or collum. Is that a wall I see next to the stairs in the picture and a collum on the other side?

Slide 8: Then the carpenter, who did not use a single nail or glue to
construct this staircase, disappeared without even waiting for his
payment.

This is not that uncommon durning the time this stair was created. There were whole houses and building created without a single nail or glue. It was a sign of a master carpenter getting paid enough and haveing the time to not use nails or glue. As for disappearing without even waiting for his
pay. Is it possible that someone other than Jesus would donate ones time and materials with take reconition for it?

Slide 11: There are 3 mysteries in this case, says the spokesman of the chapel : the 1st mystery is that, until today, the identity of this man is
not known.

He did the work and left to were every he came from with out leaving his name. Should we be supprised that we do not anything more about this person?

Slide 12: The second mystery – all the architects, engineers and
scientists say that they cannot understand how this staircase can balance
without any central support.

They must have not looked to hard to find someone that understands structal engineering. Ether that or the last time they check about how it was build was with local experts over 100 years ago.

Slide 13: And the 3rd mystery – from where did the wood come? They have checked and found out that the type of wood used to build the staircase does not exist in the entire region

Being that no one knew this person. There is a good chance that he traveled from some distance away. If this is true then there is also a good chance that he brought his own lumber with him. Then there is a far chance this type of wood does not grow in the area.

Slide 14: There is another detail that has just increased the belief in
the supposed miracle : The staircase has 33 steps, the age of Jesus
Christ.

I'm sure that if there were some other number of step they would have found some other relation ship to match there beleifs.

[TrekkerScout]

Slide 8: Then the carpenter, who did not use a single nail or glue to construct this staircase, disappeared without even waiting for his payment.

Any good carpenter knows the secrets of dovetail, mortise and tenon, and tongue and groove construction.

Slide 12: The second mystery – all the architects, engineers and scientists say that they cannot understand how this staircase can balance without any central support.

I guess they couldn't see the iron scroll-work support that links the staircase to one of the balcony support columns (easily seen in slides 6, 7, 8, & 14 - or in other words: all of the photos that the staircase is pictured).

For a real mystery, somebody should try to figure out how my house (built in 1915) remains standing. Every time I open a wall for remodel work, I find that at least half of the load bearing studs seem to be cosmetic only.

[snapdragonfly]

I don't think it's all that mysterious, but it IS pretty. (From what I remember of it from my 10th grade New Mexico History class trip to Santa Fe. Mostly I was all about chasing after a guy I had a crush on, but I do remember the stair case. )

[bjohn13]

Originally Posted by snopes

Slide 14: There is another detail that has just increased the belief in
the supposed miracle : The staircase has 33 steps, the age of Jesus
Christ.

Aren't they about 2,000 years off?

[chillas]

http://www.csicop.org/si/9811/i-files.html

[Don Enrico]

From chillas' link:

He announced he could provide a suitable means of access to the loft, requiring only permission and a couple of water tubs. Soon, he was at work:
Sisters, going in to the Chapel to pray, saw the tubs with wood soaking in them, ...

Soaking the wood in water before construction gives - from my small knowledge - another clue that the carpenter was using some kind of of dovetail, mortise and tenon, or tongue and groove construction, as TrekkerScout suggested.

On the other hand:

Such problems seem to have beset the staircase at Loretto, suggesting that, at most, the "miracle" was a partial one. Safety appears to have been a concern at the outset, since there was originally no railing. At the time the staircase was completed, one thirteen-year-old sister who was among the first to ascend to the loft, told how she and her friends were so frightened -- absent a railing -- that they came down on hands and knees (Albach 1965).

Frightened? The sisters feeling the need to ascend the stair on their knees was another miracle, of course!

Don "Behold the Great Carpenter!" Enrico

[Buckle Up]

Originally Posted by Silas Sparkhammer

This is Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hardly anything exists in the region. Everything had to be brought in; some miracle.

Silas

We actually have several large national forests full of lumber. We even have several lakes! It's desert, but high desert - a lot grows, and we've got plenty to build with.

As for the staircase, it is pretty, and interesting. There are some supports around it, not part of the original, that were added later to preserve it, but it still has no central support. I can't speak for its miraculousness.

The Sisters keep it very well protected and something tells me that they wouldn't exactly welcome a study from engineers and carpenters, since if they disproved the miracle, they'd lose lots of tourist dollars.

[Singing in the Drizzle]

Here is a few links to other miraculous spiral staircases, since they do not have center supports as well.

www.engin.umich.edu/research/mrl/PE-POS_SpiralStaircasePhoto.jpg

www.eveandersson.com/photos/france/paris

www.duvinage.com/gallery/photos/past-gallery/circular/24.jpg


www.amiaga.com/officeSpaces/GrandSpiralStaircase-CorporateOffice

www.hfinster.de/StahlArt2/archive-LavoirTriagePeronnes

[ganzfeld]

Originally Posted by Silas Sparkhammer

The Skeptical Inquirer also had an article on it.

Here's the article:
http://www.csicop.org/si/9811/i-files.html

[chillas]

Originally Posted by ganzfeld

Here's the article:
http://www.csicop.org/si/9811/i-files.html

Wow, I wish I'd posted that already, four posts ago.

[Don Enrico]

Originally Posted by chillas

Wow, I wish I'd posted that already, four posts ago.

And I wish I'd quoted from that in the post after chillas' ...

And let us not forget the movie made about this miracle.

I always find these kinds of "miracles" funny. God lets people die in such tragedies like Virginia Tech, but he can spare a saint to built a staircase,after all,it's the least he could do.

[Four Kitties]

New page on the ULRP.

[Buckle Up]

Originally Posted by Four Kitties

New page on the ULRP.

Ooh, watch out now, them nuns are gonna come after ya!

[Four Kitties]

Me? I'm just the minion!

[vanilla]

Originally Posted by snopes

Slide 11: There are 3 mysteries in this case, says the spokesman of the
chapel : the 1st mystery is that, until today, the identity of this man is
not known.

Should it still be considered a mystery if, as of today, we now know the identity of the builder?