Monday, October 31, 2011

Montreal's Exterior staircases


Laurier avenue East, Montreal
Laurier avenue East, Montreal


One of the unique features of Montreal architecture and often commented on by visitors to the city is the abundance of exterior staircases.

Rue Henri-Julien, Montreal
Rue Henri-Julien, Montreal


It is difficult to find the exact reasons why this architectural feature is so prevalent, but two reasons do get mentioned most often.

Rue Henri-Julien, Montreal
Rue Henri-Julien, Montreal


One reason often cited is cost savings. You don't heat exterior stair cases thus save money.

232 Laurier East, Montreal
232 Laurier East, Montreal


But the reason most often cited and actually given by the City of Montreal on one of their websites is that this all started because of a by-law trying to improve the city's green space.

Back in the 19th century (Think I read somewhere it was 1840) Montreal passed a by-law requiring all new buildings to be so many feet back from the sidewalk. This meant smaller buildings on the lot, so to compensate and maximize the living space in the building, staircases were placed outside over the required green space.


Rue Drolet, Montreal
Rue Drolet, Montreal


Another oft asked question is why are the staircases open? Obviously only asked by people who have never spent a winter in Montreal. With an average annual snowfall of 210 cm (86 inches) the open thread makes snow removal a bit easier.


Back stairs - rue Le Jeune, Montreal
Back stairs - rue Le Jeune, Montreal



Thanks for stopping by. If you are interested you can see other photos taken on my walkabout the Plateau area of Montreal in my Walkabout the Plateau - 30 August 2011 gallery.

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4 comments:

  1. walk not work when you are talking about a sidewalk.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Never could proofread my own stuff. Thanks for the heads-up

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  3. Postingthis on behalf of Gilberte who has problems commenting:
    *****
    What an interesting document about the exterior staircases in Montreal.Some are a real ornament to the house.
    Here, in Belgium, we don’t have them at the facade but some houses have a steep ladder at the back to escape easily when there’s a fire.

    November 1, 2011 3:23 AM

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Gilberte. Appreciate your comments and am glad you found this interesting.

    ReplyDelete