Nikon 35mm film (available light)
The builders of Loretto Chapel in Sante Fe, NM installed a choir loft 22 feet above the chapel floor... then realized there was no way to reach it - other than possibly a ladder...
The rest is legendary...mysterious carpenter appears with only a donkey and a tool box... He builds this spiral staircase -- 33 steps in two 360-degree turns- supported solely on its base and against the choir loft -- risers all the same height -- constructed with square wooden pegs and hot water, without glue or nails, and (according to the story) nobody's exactly sure what type of wood he used. Declining any payment, the mysterious stranger vanished into western legend...
http://www.lorettochapel.com/stair.html
Balusters and railings were actually added by others later on... and were not part of the original staircase... .
Some discussion found here: http://www.csicop.org/si/9811/i-files.html
