Banister

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God, I LOVE the wooden banisters. Such works of art . . . It breaks my heart to see so many of these left behind in the various sites. 'Course, I have no idea if it is practical or even possible to take these out, but it would be worth having a house with 50 flights of stairs just to adopt all of these. :-)

i totally agree lynn

Breathtaking.....I love this shot!

Heather

Thu 08-04-2005

OMG! This is one great starcase! Perfect lighting to capture its beauty too! Wonderful picture.

Silkster40z

Thu 08-04-2005

Wonder what it's made of?I'm assuming oak but I could be wrong.The thing that makes this place stand out is all the really nice carpentry work.

Orchid Lunar

Thu 08-04-2005

great carving. You could probably knock someone's head off with that thing, assuming you could pick it up and still swing it.

derelict sensation

Fri 08-05-2005

Its very easy to remove a bannister like this...

shadow

Sat 08-06-2005

also I forgot to mention, notice the low rise on the steps, allowing for the longer dresses that were the fashion during this buildings construction to be accessed with discretion.

Back in 1890, it was a taboo for any "decent" lady to lift the bottom part of her skirt even for the purpose of acsending steps....no self respecting lady EVER showed her ankle or anything above it.

shadow

Sat 08-06-2005

Shadow: That is a great observation about the dresses. I for one appreciate this kind of detailed view.

quest

Sat 08-06-2005

this shot is amazing. at the risk of sounding cliche it look just like something out of a horror film.

KayD27

Mon 08-08-2005

That is a remarkable staircase, the "newel" post is probably one solid piece turned on a lathe and hand chisled.
The run of the treads and riser are definitly unique, you would not see anything like that today.

Good point shadow, a staircase built on etiquette.

Bob

Mon 10-03-2005

I love these type of banisters anywhere.

Sandy

Thu 10-20-2005

What a wonderful staircase! Beautiful shot!

Bri

Tue 11-29-2005

Its probably walnut. The grain is too fine to be oak. Walnut carves and turns easily too. Believe it or not, I've actually heard of someone who salvaged bit and pieces of mansions that were about to be torn down and used them to build a new house. He used whatever struck his fancy instead of just what he needed and had apparently many staircases in the house that he just couldn't bear to see destroyed.

jane

Sun 02-12-2006

Not only is it relatively easy to salvage a gorgeous piece of woodwork like this staircase, but it is also saving a piece of history. I have seen entire staircases like this for sale at a local contruction salvage depot. I hope preservationists make an attempt to save this and the fireplace in this abandonment before they get destroyed.

weasel

Mon 02-20-2006

I did not mean busting it up like hell and taking out chunks illeagally, by the way. I meant to salvage it by full permssion of the owner. :)

weasel

Mon 02-20-2006

You TOTALLY creeped me out with this picture. I have the SAME BANNISTER IN MY HOUSE!!!!!

Joe

Thu 03-02-2006

that is your house........

chopsuey

Mon 05-22-2006

Mahogany mayhap? The Victorians spared no expense in building these types of places.

Sweetness.

I have an antique banister dismantled and stored in my basement. I just don't have a place to install it.

Gezal

Thu 06-01-2006

The carpentry in this house can all be found in the house of my dreams. The banister and the fireplace blow my mind.

Rivet

Thu 07-13-2006

Quite the narrow staircase.

Jessica

Thu 11-30-2006

It's beautiful, imagine what it looks like buffed and shiny. I'd love for the risers on my stairs at home to be this shallow, damm steps about kill my knees.

AvalonSeeker

Fri 02-01-2008

Your documentation of such craftsmanship at these locations is truly amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. It really is hard to understand how anyone can leave these treasures behind when they vacate the building.

Stairway to Hell

Welcome to the shrinking staircase! The solidness of the bannister blocks the right hand view of the upper stairs, making them look like they're getting tinier and tinier... Gorgeous work, Motts!

rokalily

Thu 10-15-2009

Am looking for a staircase like this to buy/salvage. Any leads that you know of?

Sun 10-18-2009

this is one of your great ones motts. you realy captured the older house desine in this shot. to put it simple.

TYREX

Sun 09-05-2010

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Date Shot:	May 2005	Image ID#:	2882
Date Posted:	Wed, August 3rd 2005	Camera:	Canon 300D Rebel

Location Name:	Saint Michaels State Hospital
Current Status:	Abandoned
Built:	1887	Closed:	n/a
Opened:	1890	Demolished / Renovated:	n/a
Location Age:	125 years	Abandonment:	n/a

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Banister

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