Montreal Staircases !

Good morning everyone !

I thought you all deserved a break from my crappy reno's - how about a visit to Montreal?
We haven't done it in a little white now -

Come - let's check out something Montreal is quite famous for
Our staircases !

Every time you see a tour bus go by in the city you see people frantically snapping photos of them lol - so even though they are second nature to me ( after 55 years ) I decided to look at them through a " tourist's " eyes.................

I used to run up and down some of them with roller skates on as a little girl - can you imagine?
My girlfriend and I went to a party once and may or may not have had a little too much wine - and it was in one of these " flats " - I was TERRIFIED to go down the stairs - absolutely terrified.

Here we go...............btw - these are exlusive to CITY neighborhoods - you won't see any of these in the suburbs..............
Ranked in the top 5 " recognizable " Montreal features................

The South may have duelling banjoes - we have duelling staircases !

SOURCE: ASHLEY GASPERINO

It's pretty strange that this would have been a building feature in a city where the winter's can be brutal with snow and ice..................

Hence most of them are wrought iron - with open risers - allowing for easier snow removal

There are several theories on their beginnings in our city..................

Apparently they were first created by British builders newly arrived from Europe and bringing inspiration from Edinburgh and New Castle.................( although I've also heard that the Iron on the stair cases and balconies were influenced by the Irish - of which we had a huge population )

To help adapt to the rapid growth of the city - causing a density in population - multi storey flats were built - hence the staircases...............

Building the stair cases on the outside of the building allowed for more space on the inside for living
Again several theories exist -
Another one being that the Clergy reinforced the use of them to deter adultery - LMHO - because you would be SEEN slinking into someone's else's home !!!

Some are straight

and some are beautifully curved
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

We had one like this in our back garden 2 houses ago - flowers and all - wish I'd been blogging then lol

Some are colorful

Some have a wonderful Patina

Some lead up from Stores....................

and some grace where we shop and eat

We love them so much we even have stairs leading up to Mount Royal Park ( Montreal's version of Central Park - in fact designed by the same man - Frederick Law Olmsted - ours rests on top of the mountain in the middle of the city - MONTREAL - derives from MOUNT ROYAL -  )

So we can gaze at the city below while reading a book or having a picnic

although my favorite is the view at twilight

(Hmmm - maybe my next Montreal post will be on our Mountain Park :)

And then of course there are perhaps Montreal's most famous stairs

The ones that lead up to St. Joseph's Oratory - all 283 of them.......................

( if you love Churches - I have a post on Montreal Churches - which we are also renowned for HERE )

What makes your city/town unique?  I'd love to know !

Ok - I'm going downstairs now to do some more painting - wasn't this a nice distraction from all my reno's, lol ?

All of the above photos can be found on my Montreal Pinterest page HERE

( Most of us that have lived in this city's neighborhoods have a horror story ( or 2 or 3 ) of moving days.
Montreal movers should have medals - without a doubt !!! )

Have a great weekend
Much love,

I'll be partying here!

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