# Famous steps **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069 "2022-02-07T20:36:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/1 "2022-02-07T20:36:33Z")
Some real-life steps and staircases, such as Rome’s [Spanish Steps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Steps), are world-famous in their own right. Others have fame thrust upon them through depictions in movies, TV shows, books, paintings, and other media. Can we make a list of those in this latter category? Here are some to get us started: - [The _Music Box_ steps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Music_Box#Location) in Los Angeles, California were made famous through their appearance in the 1932 Laurel and Hardy short of the same name. Today they’re conspicuously signposted for tourists and feature a plaque with the duo’s portraits. - [The steps from Prospect Street to M Street](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exorcist_steps) in the Georgetown neighbourhood of Washington, DC were featured prominently in the 1973 film _The Exorcist_. As I discussed in [my thread about my visit to Washington](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-washington-dc-anything-i-need-to-book-in-advance/835608/56), the steps are a popular tourist attraction. As with the _Music Box_ steps, a commemorative plaque has been installed at the bottom. - [The steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Steps) were made famous by their use in _Rocky_. There’s now a bronze statue of Rocky at the bottom of the steps. - [The Potemkin steps of Odessa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_Stairs) have been a symbol of the city since the 19th century, but they didn’t really achieve worldwide fame until serving as the location for the horrific massacre in Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 classic _Battleship Potemkin_. Again, let’s confine our search to steps that exist(ed) as permanent, functional objects in the real world, not ones that were conceived in the imagination of an author or artist, nor ones that were constructed for the set of a movie, TV show, or play. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/2 "2022-02-07T20:39:21Z")
The [Joker Stairs](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_Stairs) have apparently become a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/3 "2022-02-07T20:41:24Z")
[Union Station,](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/iconic-movie-scene-the-untouchables-union-station-shoot-out/)from The Untouchables. Dunno if it qualifies as I had to look it up, but if I saw them in person I think I’d recognize them right away. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/4 "2022-02-07T21:03:57Z")
The steps of Columbia University’s [Low Memorial Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Memorial_Library) are a popular filming location, as seen in half a dozen of this article’s photos: > **[Columbia in the Movies](https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/columbia-movies)** > > Whether you’re ringing in 2021 with champagne or a movie marathon (how about both?), here are 21 films in which Columbia makes a cameo. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/5 "2022-02-07T21:21:17Z")
The staircase in the Loretto Chapel in New Mexico is fairly famous. > **[Loretto Chapel | Staircase](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretto_Chapel#Staircase)** > > Loretto Chapel is best known for its "miraculous" spiral staircase, which rises 20 feet (6.1 m) to the choir loft while making two full turns, all without the support of a newel or central pole. The staircase is built mostly out of wood and is held together by wooden pegs, with no glue, nails or other hardware used. The inner stringer consists of seven wooden segments joined together with pegs, while the longer outer stringer has nine segments. The exact wood used to build the staircase has been ... ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/6 "2022-02-07T22:16:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > [Union Station,](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/iconic-movie-scene-the-untouchables-union-station-shoot-out/)from The Untouchables. A scene unabashedly stolen from _Potemkin_. “If we turned right back there we’d end up on the Montmartre steps!” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eWbzrBXxm78/hqdefault.jpg "The Great Race - We're going to win") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWbzrBXxm78) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/7 "2022-02-07T22:22:39Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > The staircase in the Loretto Chapel in New Mexico is fairly famous. From which film or other depiction? I’ve seen documentaries about it but don’t recall it appearing in any work of fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/8 "2022-02-07T22:32:04Z")
I saw a made-for-TV movie about that staircase once (which implied that the carpenter who built them might have been Joseph, stepfather of Jesus), but I don’t think it had much impact on the public consciousness. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/9 "2022-02-07T22:46:05Z")
The New York Public Library’s steps (with their iconic lions) have featured in a number of movies, like The Day After Tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/10 "2022-02-07T22:50:57Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > > [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > > > The staircase in the Loretto Chapel in New Mexico is fairly famous. > > From which film or other depiction? I’ve seen documentaries about it but don’t recall it appearing in any work of fiction. Is this thread about fictional works, specifically? If so, then I dunno. I’ve seen it featured on a few of those In Search Of and Unsolved Mysteries type TV shows. It’s famous enough that there was a movie made about it, but I haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/11 "2022-02-07T23:09:52Z")
The Staircase, with Barbara Hershey. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/12 "2022-02-07T23:17:53Z")
Not necessarily “famous”, except for stooge fans; here’s a great video documenting the “Stooge Steps” in Los Angeles (Silver Lake neighborhood) for the Three Stooges _An Ache in Every Stake_: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/E1yyi355K_I/hqdefault.jpg "The Stooges Steps") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1yyi355K_I) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/13 "2022-02-07T23:27:20Z")
The eponymous stairs from the thriller _The Thirty-Nine Steps_ actually has 52 steps and (for your less active spies) an elevator. > **[Broadstairs: where The 39 Steps hit a dead end](https://bestdeadends.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/broadstairs-39-steps/)** > > Spoiler alert. The Thirty-Nine Steps story hinges upon what/where the eponymous steps are. I’m about to tell you. The protagonist in John Buchan’s 1915 thriller is Richard Hannay, an Em… ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/14 "2022-02-07T23:42:09Z")
The Suga Shrine Steps in Tokyo from _Your Name (Kimi no Na wa)_ [![](https://i.postimg.cc/ht54RxDX/tokyo-your-name-real-life-locations-185567.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/ht54RxDX/tokyo-your-name-real-life-locations-185567.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/15 "2022-02-07T23:44:46Z")
The double-helix stairways in Chateau de Chambord, France. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/16 "2022-02-07T23:46:15Z")
The Forecourt Steps lead to a well recognised building and are themselves a popular outdoor concert venue in Sydney. [![](https://i.ibb.co/qnzMqJg/SOH-combo.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/qnzMqJg/SOH-combo.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/17 "2022-02-07T23:48:58Z")
Michelangelo (et al.)’s Laurentian Library stairway: > **[Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library in Florence](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/michelangelo-florence-laurentian-library-slideshow/amp)** > > Michelangelo's Laurentian Library in Florence is a revolutionary, and rarely crowded, masterpiece ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/18 "2022-02-08T00:38:15Z")
[16th Avenue Tiled Steps](http://www.16thavenuetiledsteps.com/) in San Francisco [![](https://img.atlasobscura.com/zAEr5z-eOOr34ht8ip_tzy5XEkUpF69Mw-t7b9wU28U/rt:fit/w:1200/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL3BsYWNl/X2ltYWdlcy9hMTIw/NGI4ZS1iMGJlLTQz/MDYtYjNiMi1kNWNj/MDFmNDQzNzdkNzg2/NGFhNjdkYmM3MDEz/ODRfMzc1NjIwMTkt/NjEyQS00ODQ2LTgy/MjUtMjM1OUY2MjEz/MTdCLmpwZWc.jpg) ](https://img.atlasobscura.com/zAEr5z-eOOr34ht8ip_tzy5XEkUpF69Mw-t7b9wU28U/rt:fit/w:1200/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL3BsYWNl/X2ltYWdlcy9hMTIw/NGI4ZS1iMGJlLTQz/MDYtYjNiMi1kNWNj/MDFmNDQzNzdkNzg2/NGFhNjdkYmM3MDEz/ODRfMzc1NjIwMTkt/NjEyQS00ODQ2LTgy/MjUtMjM1OUY2MjEz/MTdCLmpwZWc.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/19 "2022-02-08T00:55:17Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > [16th Avenue Tiled Steps](http://www.16thavenuetiledsteps.com/) Now that looks a rather brilliant example of urban amenity … but wouldn’t they be bloody slippery, if not lethal when they got wet? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069/20 "2022-02-08T01:09:13Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > …wouldn’t they be bloody slippery, if not lethal when they got wet? I don’t know about that, but I _ **do** _ know that tourists’ cars get broken into on a regular basis when parked in the area. A word to the wise, as they say… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-steps/959069.md?page=2)