Has anyone tried building one like this? I read that the staircase was
originally built without the handrails. They were added several years
later. Also while in the tourist info it's claimed that no one has figured
out how it was done, I read that the inner curve in a spiral acts as the
main support, and the outer curve also acts as a supporting spiral. They
also mentioned who actually built it. I'm not trying to debunk a legend, I
just want to try to build a duplicate. Anyone know where plans are, or so??
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks for posting that, John. I'd heard of this remarkable staircase many
> times, but this is the first time I've ever seen a photograph. Regardless
of
> how it came to be, it's an amazing work of craftsmanship and art.
>
Doug,
I live about 5 hours away from Santa Fe and have seen the chapel several
times. My last visit to the chapel was in the fall of 2002 and I took a few
shots and posted to this group. I have since removed them from my website,
but put them back so you and others can take another look.
The chapel is privately owned today and is attached to an up-scale hotel.
Because the chapel is privately owned, photos are allowed in the chapel.
The chapel is frequently used for weddings, but staunch Catholics must be
married in a local Catholic church, and then repeat their vows at the
chapel. The bride and groom (but only those two) are allowed to climb up
half way to have their picture taken. The rest of the party must stand at
the base.
I was talking to an historian in the gift shop and she said that they are
aware of both possible builders (Johon Hadwiger and Francois-Jean "Frenchy"
Rochas), and of course the St. Joseph legend, but will take no stand on the
subject.
Here are the photos I took in 2002.
Front of chapel: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/chapel.jpg
Full view: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/fullview.jpg
From below: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/lookingup.jpg
Spiral form: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/spiral.jpg
and a photo (reconstruction) to show how it would have looked without the
handrails which were added later -- it would scare me to think of climbing
the staircase without the rails
http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/original.jpg
--
Ken Vaughn
Visit My Workshop: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/
"Ken Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
>
> "Rick Samuel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Who built this staircase is unknown. Legend has
> > it St Joseph did.
>
> There is a short article on the "Miraculous Staircase" in Fine Woodworking
> #16, May/June 1979, page 34. The article (by Laura Cehanowicz) explains
how
> a retired and arthritic carpenter, Oscar Hadwiger of Pueblo, CO, built
> several models of the staircase and while researching the structure with
the
> Sisters of Loretto came to the belief that his own grandfather was the
> builder. In a toolchest that belonged to his grandfather he found a
> detailed sketch of the staircase and a homemade metal die, which may have
> been used to make the dowel like pegs used in the construction.
And here's this one too:
http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_5_24/ai_67691830
Now in an article in the January 2000 New Mexico magazine--"Loretto
Staircase Mystery Unravels" by Tamar Stieber--the identity of the enigmatic
craftsman has been revealed. Credit for the discovery goes to an "intrepid
and highly respected amateur historian" named Mary Jean Cook. She learned of
a "hermit rancher," Francois-Jean "Frenchy" Rochas, who lived in
"godforsaken" Dog Canyon, nine miles from Alamogordo. Learning that he had
left behind a collection of "sophisticated carpentry tools," Cook searched
for his death notice, which she found in the January 6, 1896, issue of The
Santa Fe New Mexican.
It described Rochas's murdered body being found at his isolated rock cabin
and described him as "favorably known in Santa Fe as an expert worker in
wood." He had built, the brief obituary noted, "the handsome staircase in
the Loretto chapel and at St. Vincent sanitarium."
Cook suspects the legend of St. Joseph began with the sisters at the Loretto
Academy, "probably in response to questions from their students." However,
she observes that "it wasn't until the late 1930s--when the story appeared
in Ripley's ... Believe It or Not!--that the story became an icon of popular
culture."
Although some rued the debunking of the pious legend, Archbishop Michael
Sheehan promised: "It will always be referred to as a miraculous staircase.
It was an extraordinary piece to have been done in its time."
The Chapel's gift shop has a report by an engineer that might shed some
light.
"Ol' Texan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:u7oEc.1298$IQ4.1201@attbi_s02...
> Has anyone tried building one like this? I read that the staircase was
> originally built without the handrails. They were added several years
> later. Also while in the tourist info it's claimed that no one has
figured
> out how it was done, I read that the inner curve in a spiral acts as the
> main support, and the outer curve also acts as a supporting spiral. They
> also mentioned who actually built it. I'm not trying to debunk a legend,
I
> just want to try to build a duplicate. Anyone know where plans are, or
so??
>
>
Thank you for all the good information. I would still like some exact
dimensions, and do wonder if similar designs are around? However I think I
have enough now to try and make one. With trial and error, it might work,
particularly as I want to do one without the railing.
Thanks again.
"patrick conroy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
>
> I often wonder if anyone has looked for similar designs? Suspecting that
the
> artisan might have done some others.
>
>
>
>
> > Regardless of how it came to be, it's an amazing work of craftsmanship
and
> art.
>
> That's my bottom line.
> Breath-taking.
>
>
In article <[email protected]>, "J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote:
>FWIW, there was a Skeptical Inquirer article on this with references.
><http://www.csicop.org/si/9811/i-files.html>
>
Thanks for posting that, John. I'd heard of this remarkable staircase many
times, but this is the first time I've ever seen a photograph. Regardless of
how it came to be, it's an amazing work of craftsmanship and art.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.
"Rick Samuel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Who built this staircase is unknown. Legend has
> it St Joseph did.
There is a short article on the "Miraculous Staircase" in Fine Woodworking
#16, May/June 1979, page 34. The article (by Laura Cehanowicz) explains how
a retired and arthritic carpenter, Oscar Hadwiger of Pueblo, CO, built
several models of the staircase and while researching the structure with the
Sisters of Loretto came to the belief that his own grandfather was the
builder. In a toolchest that belonged to his grandfather he found a
detailed sketch of the staircase and a homemade metal die, which may have
been used to make the dowel like pegs used in the construction.
His grandfather, Johon (a German staircase builder) had come to America to
try to convince Oscar's father, John, to return to Germany. He was
unsuccessful, and while in the Pueblo area heard that there was work in the
Santa Fe area, where he went for a few months. When he returned to Pueblo
he said that he had built a staircase and did not wait to be paid. He left
his donkey and tools with John and returned to Germany. Oscar was 89 at the
time of the article (25 years ago).
--
Ken Vaughn
Visit My Workshop: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/
In article <[email protected]>, "Ken Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote:
[snip]
>
>Here are the photos I took in 2002.
>
>Front of chapel: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/chapel.jpg
>Full view: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/fullview.jpg
>From below: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/lookingup.jpg
>Spiral form: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/spiral.jpg
_Very_ nice. Thanks for the links.
>
>and a photo (reconstruction) to show how it would have looked without the
>handrails which were added later -- it would scare me to think of climbing
>the staircase without the rails
>
>http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/original.jpg
>
Yeah. _Major_ pucker factor. Scares me to look at it.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.
Who built this staircase is unknown. Legend has
it St Joseph did.
Ol' Texan wrote:
> Has anyone tried building one like this? I read that the staircase was
> originally built without the handrails. They were added several years
> later. Also while in the tourist info it's claimed that no one has figured
> out how it was done, I read that the inner curve in a spiral acts as the
> main support, and the outer curve also acts as a supporting spiral. They
> also mentioned who actually built it. I'm not trying to debunk a legend, I
> just want to try to build a duplicate. Anyone know where plans are, or so??
>
>
Fred the Red Shirt wrote:
> Rick Samuel <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
>>
>> Who built this staircase is unknown.
>>
>
> There is a probable suspect, a German stairbuilder visiting
> in the area at the time. His grandson fouind a sketch of the
> staircase in his grandfather's old toolbox.
FWIW, there was a Skeptical Inquirer article on this with references.
<http://www.csicop.org/si/9811/i-files.html>
--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
Rick Samuel <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> Who built this staircase is unknown.
>
There is a probable suspect, a German stairbuilder visiting
in the area at the time. His grandson fouind a sketch of the
staircase in his grandfather's old toolbox.
--
FF
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
I often wonder if anyone has looked for similar designs? Suspecting that the
artisan might have done some others.
> Regardless of how it came to be, it's an amazing work of craftsmanship and
art.
That's my bottom line.
Breath-taking.