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By EMCN

Kasteel van Mesen, Lede, Belgium by Niek Beck September 11, 2008

Kasteel van Mesen, Lede, Belgium  by Niek Beck September 11, 2008

Château de la Forêt by Martino ~ NL February 10, 2011

“A spiral of wooden strips surrounds a staircase in the restaurant of this Strasbourg hotel, designed inside a former equestrian academy by Parisstudio Jouin Manku “ Source

Mossy Stairs, Matsushima, Japan

Ancient Garden Stairs, Tuscany, Italy

photo via pilgram

This was the great cast iron staircase that stood at the center of the Samuel R. Smith Infirmary, an 1890 edifice that stood proudly on Staten Island until a few years ago, when it was demolished to little fanfare.  In all honesty, by the point it was demolished, it was probably beyond saving - it would have been prohibitively expensive to rehabilitate the building in its final state.  As I discuss in my blog post on the subject, this highlights the generally failed state of New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Print available here.

This cast-iron spiral staircase is among my favorite finds in my years of traveling through the ruins.  And this photograph, from my first trip to North Brother Island, is among my favorite photographs that I’ve taken.  The quality of light was perfect, diffused through the partially-cloudy sky and coming in through a few holes in the boards over the windows.  Walking into this room blew my mind.  A few minutes after I took this photo, I took another photograph of the staircase with a completely different feel to it.  And on my final trip to the island - almost as if a bookend to 15 trips out to Typhoid Mary’s hospital - my final shot of the day was another view of this staircase, tinted green by the spring foliage over the windows.  Looking at the three photos (as well as dozens of others I took of this rusting hulk over the years), it blows my mind how much a little change in lighting or framing can affect the way the staircase appears - from ominous to inviting.

Print available here.

Stairs by rifas Hotel in Pedras Salgadas - Portugal Sep 20, 2008

stairs by watch-the-sky Place: Bangok May 11, 2004

Old stairs by eiran04 Place:  Croatia (Tučepi) Jun 27, 2008

Stairs by kiranambwani ” Stairs of a 500 year old astronomical observatory, Jantar Mantar, India “ February 25, 2006

Stone Stairs by Pajunen Tokyo, Japan Jul 20, 2013

Stairs in nature by ZerberuZ (Place: Unknown?) Feb 26, 2011

magic stairs by Jaquilin Mindo Cloudforest, Ecuador August 18, 2009