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Historic sites Oldest Church Santa Fe boasts the United States’ oldest public building, church, house and neighborhood. It has 10 major museums and some 200 world-class art galleries, making it an art and history lover’s paradise. Downtown Santa Fe is a National Historic District. At its heart is the Plaza. Bounded by Palace Avenue on the north, Old Santa Fe Trail on the east, San Francisco Street to the south, and Lincoln Avenue on the west. The park like Plaza is the main town square. On its north side is the Palace of the Governors, built in 1610 as Santa Fe’s original capitol building and first major structure. The one-story adobe spans the block and is the oldest U.S. public building still in continuous use. The front portal is reserved for Native Americans to sell their traditional and contemporary jewelry, pottery, sand paintings, and other arts and crafts. They are there 360 days a year from 8 a.m. to dusk. The Native American Artisans Program of the Palace of the Governors provides an opportunity for these talented artists and craftspeople to market their original artwork in a venue that assures authenticity for the buyer. The goods displayed and sold by program participants must be made by the seller or by their household members. Miraculous Staircase East of the Plaza is a turquoise portico with shops, restaurants and courtyards, and the Sena Plaza. At the end of East San Francisco Street, is St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral. South on Old Santa Fe Trail is the Loretto Chapel erected in 1873-1878. Its choir loft staircase which makes two complete 360-degree spiral turns without center or side supports is said to be a “miraculous” architectural achievement. Legend has it that the chapel’s small size and choir loft height precluded a conventional staircase. Faced with using a ladder or rebuilding the balcony, the good sisters prayed to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, and a carpenter appeared who constructed the staircase and mysteriously left without payment. Further south on Old Santa Fe Trail is an area formerly known as Barrio de Analco and part of a National Historic District. Some homes date to the mid-18th century. On the eastern side of Old Santa Fe Trail at 215 East De Vargas Street is the oldest house in the United States, built around 1646. At the corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and East de Vargas is San Miguel Mission Church, said to be the country’s oldest church structure. The altar was built by Indians from Mexico in 1610, and mass is still celebrated every Sunday. The adobe Santuario de Guadalupe, west of the Plaza was built between 1776 and 1796. It holds a stunning altar painting and is the country’s oldest extant shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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