The ups and downs (and up again) of Montreal’s outdoor staircases

Whether straight, zig-zagging or curved, outdoor staircases are a fixture of many Montreal duplexes and triplexes. But how did a wintry city like ours end up with so many stairs to shovel? We’ll debunk some rumours step by step and hear how the evolution of the outdoor staircase is wrapped up in ideas about class, aesthetics and even morality.