Our Lady of Light (Loretto) Chapel, Santa Fe, New Mexico

These photographs depict the Our Lady of Light (Loretto) Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Built from 1873 to 1878 for the Sisters of Loretto, who ran a school nearby, the chapel is famous for its spiral staircase, which has perplexed observers for decades. The staircase lacks a visible means of support, was built with only hammer and saw, and features only wooden nails.  The builder of the staircase is unknown, and left before being able to be paid.  Some claim the staircase as miraculous.  

The chapel was deconsecrated in 1971, following the closure of the school in 1968.  Today it is privately owned and features a museum and is used for a wedding chapel.

This chapel was built basically next door to the  Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, and was built while the cathedral was under construction.

Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto Ontario

This is the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, Ontario.  It was built in 1847, and is located in what is now the very downtown heart of Toronto.

I admit I'm pushing the geographic  nature of this blog with this one (not for the first time), as Toronto wouldn't normally be considered "the west", but perhaps its not quite as farfetched as it might seem. While Toronto is a huge major North American city today, all Canadian cities in this region and further west were, at one time, part of the Canadian frontier, a frontier that lasted longer in some respects than the frontier in the United States did, even though the history of the Canadian West and the American West are part and parcel of each other.

This is an Anglican church,. and at one time Toronto was a very English town.

St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Casper Wyoming

This large Roman Catholic Church is located one block from St. Mark's Episcopal Church, the First Presbyterian Church, and the St. Anthony's Convent otherwise pictured on this blog. Built in the late teens and completed in 1920, funds to construct the church were raised from the parishioners.  The church was formally dedicated by Bishop McGovern on August 15, 1920.  The church rectory is next to it, and can be seen in the bottom photograph. To the far right, only partially visible in this photograph, is the Shepherd's Staff, the church offices.

This church served as the only Roman Catholic church in Casper Wyoming up until 1953, when Our Lady of Fatima was opened. The church also currently serves the St. Francis Mission in Midwest Wyoming.

St. Anthony's was recently updated (Spring 2014) to include a Ten Commandments monument.

My parents were married in this church in 1958 and I was baptized here.

The church has, within the entryway, a memorial to its parishioner's killed during World War Two.

I've noticed that this particular entry had tended to remain in the top three of the most observed entries on this blog, not that there's a lot of traffic on this blog. My theory is that people are hitting it looking for the Parish website. That being the case, you can find the parish website by hitting this link here.

 
Epilog:

St. Anthony's recently received a new set of steps. The old cement was decaying after a century of use.  So, as a result, the front of the church now has a slightly different appearance.

Updated:  December 7, 2014. 

Japanese Church of Christ, Salt Lake City Utah

This is the Japanese Church of Christ in Salt Lake City,. This is a Presbyterian and United Church of Christ church in what was formerly "Japantown" in Salt Lake City. The church was built in 1924.

St. Josephs Old Cathedral, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

This is St. Joseph's Old Cathedral in Oklahoma City, a Catholic parish church at the present time, having gone to parish status in 1931 after a new cathedral was built.  The church was built in 1905.  Like the First Church, a block away, it was heavily damaged in the Murrah Federal Office bombing.

First Church, Oklahoma City

The First Church in Oklahoma City is so called as it was the first church established in Oklahoma City. The original wooden structure, very much added to and changed over the years, was first set out in 1889.  The Church is a United Methodist Church, and was directly across from the site of the Murrah Federal Building bombing, in which it was heavily damaged.

Church Ruin, West Laramie, Wyoming

This striking church ruin is located in West Laramie, Wyoming

The structure is clearly that of a classic Gothic style church, which was constructed out of stone and cement.  The structure of the church itself would tend to indicate that it was likely built in a classic Catholic church manner, which would indicate here that the church was likely built with a Catholic or Episcopalian congregation in mind, although its location might possibly indicate that it was built as a chapel for the Territorial Prison in Laramie.  The structure is very old, and its been in ruins for as long as I personally can recall.  It's now located on the grounds of a farm, but at the time it was built it would have been actually several miles outside of Laramie, and indeed it would have been at least three miles from the territorial prison.

This church is a mystery to me, and if anyone knows what it was, I'd appreciate knowing.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Rawlins Wyoming

This is St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Rawlins, Wyoming.  This downtown Rawlins Church appears to be of newer construction than the other downtown Rawlins Churches, but I don't know anything about it other than its downtown location.

France Memorial Presbyterian Church (Victory Baptist Church), Rawlins Wyoming

This is the France Memorial Presbyterian Church in Rawlins, which was built in downtown Rawlins in 1882. The Gothic style church is still in use, but today is a Baptist church.  The substantial stone structure is one of the oldest churches in the state.

Lex Anteinternet: The Flying V Cambria Inn, Weston County Wyoming.

Lex Anteinternet: The Flying V Cambria Inn, Weston County Wyoming.:

This building, built as a resort in Weston County Wyoming, is included here as it has a substantial attached chapel.

The Flying V  Cambria Inn, in Weston County Wyoming, provides an interesting look into the early resort era of hotels.  Located near where the former Wyoming mining town of Cambria had been, it was built in the style of an English manor house.

 The inn was built with a chapel, the side of which you see here.

 Chapel at the Cambria Inn.

Chapel.

Stained glass windows in chapel.  The window includes variants of the State Seal in two locations.

Some sort of propeller.

Balcony in chapel.

Window dedicated to fraternal organizations.

Bar in inn.

Ballroom in inn.

Ball room in inn.