LORETTO CHAPEL

The Loretto Chapel is located only a couple of blocks south of Santa Fe's central square, close to the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail.  The small chapel was completed in 1878.  Once again, the morning light for a shot of chapel's front facade was wrong.

Once the chapel was built it was realized that there was no stairway for access to the balcony.  A traditional staircase would have taken up too much space in the small venue.  Apparently, this was not unusual for small chapels, where the balcony was considered decorative only.  The story goes that a mysterious carpenter appeared who built a space-efficient spiral staircase, using only hand tools.  The construction is remarkable, although the carpenter did not include railings, which were added later.  The staircase has some instability issues and guests are not allowed to use it.  In fact, it is roped off so that I could not get a good shot from underneath the spiral.  This was about the best I could do.  Not great.

The chapel's ceiling is overshadowed by the staircase, but is really lovely in its own right.

The sanctuary features a small but lovely crucifix.

There is a small admission charge to see the chapel, and exit is through a gift shop (of course) which features a genuine plethora of religious gifts, including an entire wall of crosses and crucifixes.

John