Storey Teller

It's The Steps, Not The Steppes

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This shot was taken in Old Montreal, when Celine, my guide for the day, noticed that I was fascinated with the graceful exterior steps outside a row of homes. She explained that when the first occupants of the houses moved in, the dwellings were single-storeyed. But when they had children and their respective families expanded, they obviously felt the need to enlarge their homes. So they solved the problem by adding another storey. However, to conserve the living space in what was now the downstairs of their (larger) homes, they added the exterior stairs that are such a hallmark of the area.