Last updated: May 14, 2024
Place
Loretto Chapel (Chapel of Our Lady of Light)
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
207 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Significance:
The chapel is famed for its 20-foot high, circular staircase, built in 1878.
MANAGED BY:
This Gothic Revival chapel, started in 1873 and completed in 1878, was built by young French architect Projectus Mouly for the Sisters of Loretto. In 1855, Jean Baptiste Lamy moved the Loretto Academy here into a former hotel he bought in 1854, La Casa Americana (the American House). That two-story, pitched roof building stood here (next to the south side of the chapel) until 1882 when a two-story convent replaced it and a three-story girls’ school was built on the north side of the chapel. The convent and school were razed in 1971 to make way for the Inn at Loretto.
Site Information
Location (207 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico)
The chapel is famed for its 20-foot high, circular staircase, built in 1878. While the Lorretines insisted the builder was St. Joseph, recent evidence points to French master carpenter Francois-Jean Rochas.
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Old Spanish Trail, Santa Fe Trail: Santa Fe, New Mexico Itinerary
Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the US, founded in 1610, and the highest in elevation at 7,000 ft. The city is the historic hub of the southwest, connecting three national historic trails: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Santa Fe Trail, and the Old Spanish Trail. This tour leads your from the busy plaza and other major tourist locations to lesser known sites along quiet, old Santa Fe streets.