I got this from Wikipedia: (As a carpenter, I thought you'd enjoy reading this, Jay.)
Staircase
The Loretto Chapel spiral staircase
Description
Loretto Chapel is best known for its helix-shaped staircase (nicknamed "Miraculous Stair"), which rises 20 feet (6.1 m) to the choir loft while making two full turns, all without the support of a newel or central pole. The staircase is built mostly out of wood and is held together by wooden pegs, with no glue, nails or other hardware used. The inner stringer consists of seven wooden segments joined together with pegs, while the longer outer stringer has nine segments. The exact wood used to build the staircase has been confirmed to be a type of spruce which is not native to New Mexico and scientifically not identified anywhere else in the world.[7]
There are 33 stairs, which has been noted to be the age of Christ at the time of his death.
The handrails were added later, in 1887, and an iron bracket was later attached to a column to add additional support.[8] The staircase is supported by an inner wood stringer.[9][10]
Apart from any claims of its miraculous nature, the staircase has been described as a remarkable feat of woodworking. According to a Washington Post column by Tim Carter:
"It's a magnificent work of art that humbles me as a master carpenter. To create a staircase like this using modern tools would be a feat. It's mind-boggling to think about constructing such a marvel with crude hand tools, no electricity and minimal resources."[11]
According to another professional carpenter, who was interviewed by Ben Radford for his book Mysterious New Mexico:
"The execution is just incredible. The theory of how to do it, to bend it around in a two-turn spiral, that's some difficult arithmetic there."[7]
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