File:Vizcaya Museum and Gardens South Tower Circular Staircase, A View From Below.jpg

English: This is an interior staircase made with cantilevered stone steps attached to a cylindrical concrete structure; it provides access to the South Tower rooms from the Courtyard at main level, and throughout a door next to the Dining Room at the Second Floor. A simple wrought-iron balustrade, decorated with pieces of brass, supports the handrail made of the same gold-looking alloy. When looking from either end of the staircase towards the other, due to perspective, the optical phenomenon, the sensation of being in front of a spiral structure is created. This optical phenomenon causes circular staircases to be erroneously called spiral staircases.

Photography Data Minolta 35mm Camera, and 35mm f2.8 Lens. Ilford black and white film 400 ASA.

This image was taken after restoring the paint on the wrought-iron balustrade and recovering the golden appearance of the railing and the small pieces. These elements were victims of an oxidation process that fortunately did not cause permanent damage. During the ruthless onslaught of the Hurricane Andrew, August 1992, the saltpeter inevitably entered the museum after the basement and adjacent grounds were filled with seawater. The lacked of electrical power and the necessary controlled ventilation for a long period create a corrosive environment, and the building and the collection were seriously threatened.