This is the Palace of the Governors. It was originally constructed in the early 17th century as Spain's seat of government. This adobe structure, now the state's history museum, was designated a Registered National Historic Landmark in 1960 and an American Treasure in 1999.
Along the south side of the Palace of The Governors, sit Native American artists and craftspeople who sell their handmade goods almost every day of the year, rain or shine. The 900+ vendors represent forty-one tribes, pueblos, chapters and villages in New Mexico, the Navajo Nation, and parts of Arizona.
This is reported to be the OLDEST house in the United States. Owned by the Christian Brothers since 1881, these 3 foot thick adobe walls date from the 1640's. The tree-ring dates the beams in the house to between 1720 and 1750.
The Saint Francis Cathedral is a mixture of Adobe, French and Modern architecture. The Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. Franciscan Friars presently staff the Cathedral Parish. The many stunning stained glass windows were imported from France. Stone for the building was imported from 15 miles away in what is now Lamy, New Mexico.
The Loretto Chapel was completed in 1882. When the building was almost finished they noticed that there was no way to get from the chapel to the choir loft. The sisters called many carpenters who all told them that a 21 foot staircase in such a small space could not be built. The sisters began to pray to Saint Joseph. In answer, a grey haired man with a donkey and tool chest came to the convent and asked if he might have a try at building what would be known as the Miraculous Staircase. When the work was complete the man simply disappeared as suddenly as he appeared and couldn’t be found to accept any pay for the job. Nor was there any charges for lumber at the local lumber yard. The Miraculous Staircase has 33 steps and makes two complete turns of 360 degrees. The staircase, unlike every other spiral staircase in the world, has no center support and no one can really explain how the thing stands up and bears weight. Wooden pegs, rather than nails, were used. The sisters remember the old carpenter using only a hammer, saw and T square. They also remember pieces of wood soaking in tubs of water. Nobody has actually pinned down exactly where the wood in the structure came from and the wood is not native to New Mexico. Some people think it was St. Joseph himself who built the staricase.I hope you've enjoyed our stop in Santa Fe. Next week we'll tour Carlsbad, the Trinity Site and The Four Corners.
3 comments:
That 17th century home is amazing. I love stuff like that.
I love the Loretto Chapel. We don't get up to Santa Fe very often, but it's always fun to go explore a bit. I'm learning quite a bit from your NM series!
Great tour! Would like to get there some day!
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