ontheroad-Santa Fe

Mission of San Miguel


Oldest House


of Guadalupe


Loretto Chapel with spiral staircase


Santa Fe

Palace of the Governors!



Originally constructed in the early 17th century as Spain's seat of government, this adobe building with an inner courtyard is a museum of Santa Fe history. It was actually a little hard to figure out what it looked like originally.

Oldest House

Built supposedly in 1646, this is claimed to be the oldest house in the US (or maybe the oldest house that has been continuously lived in) because the Palace of the Governors is older as are a couple houses in the Northeast US and the Pueblo housing that we plan to visit today in Taos may have been built in the year 1000. You could not enter this house bit I took a picture of it.

Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Located on Agua Fria Street, the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe is thought to be the oldest shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe in the United States. It was built in 1795 and the chapel was once dedicated to non-Spanish speaking catholics.
San Miguel Mission

The church is one of the oldest churches in the country and first began in 1610. A bell was cast in 1356 from Spain. Inside the mission are ornaments and paintings. The structure has been strengthened over the years. All records of the church's early history were destroyed in a fire in 1680. They have a large bell on display and it is dated either 1356 or 1856. It isn't clear when you view it. I asked the curator which date it was and he said no one has any idea. It is hard to believe that an expert could not date the bell when there is a 500 year difference to pick from.

The Loretto Chapel

The Loretto Chapel is the home of the Miraculous Staircase, which has two 360-degree turns and no visible means of support. Built between 1877 and 1881, the mystery of the builder remains unknown today. The legend is that the chapel, as a girl's school, had only nuns as teachers and the nuns could not climb a ladder to reach the choir loft. So they prayed to St. Joseph for 9 days and on the 9th day a carpenter appeared at the chapel and began to construct a spiral staircase. It took him 6 months and as soon as it was completed, he left as mysteriously as he appeared.

The Museum of International Folk Art

This place was the most fun for me. The biggest wing is the Girard Collection. This collector, a famous interior designer, collected all kinds of articles from gods to toys and placed them in cases as he wanted them to remain for eternity. Lots of these things could look like junk but they are put together very well and create a great feeling for me who loves folklore. The museum also has a collection of old New Mexican Furniture, Navaho textiles, Spanish heritage art of NM, puppets and musical instruments from Indonesia and other Eastern cultures. There are great masks from South America and religious items from many places.