Stairways

Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage to the other level by stepping from one to another step in turn. Steps are very typically rectangular, but may instead be straight, curved, or may consist of two or more straight pieces connected at angles.

castle in the Loire valley France and location of château de montsoreau-museum of contemporary art

thumb|Escalator in a Centrum Nauki Kopernik metro station|metro station in [[Warsaw]] thumb|Rows of escalators at the World Trade Center in Dubai thumb|thumbtime=3|Fujitec escalator in action, 2020 thumb|Escalator maintenance test run thumb|upright|Escalators at the Christ the Redeemer (statue)|Christ the Redeemer statue in [[Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]]

castle in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France

thumb|upright|Illustration of various examples of balusters, in A Handbook of Ornament, by Franz S. Meyer thumb|upright|The term derives from the swelling form of the half-open flower of Punica granatum, in Italian balaustra

impossible object

thumb|300px|A modern handrail made of metal

giant stairway in Odesa, Ukraine

architectural complex in Yerevan

mechanical device for people with needs

emergency exit usually mounted to the outside of a building

stairway in ancient Rome

right|thumb|Stairway with skylight

foldable flight of steps down a ship's side.

stairway in Rijeka, Croatia

1960 lithograph by M. C. Escher

architectural work in Rio de Janeiro city

Stairway and former funicular in Jamestown, Saint Helena

pedestrian stairway with a ramp to facilitate easy walking with a bicycle up or down the stairway

374-step staircase in Liège, Belgium

thumb|DC-3 modified with a simple airstair thumb|Northwest Airlines [[Boeing 727 with ventral airstair open]] thumb|right|3-section folding airstair on a "Combi aircraft|Combi" [[737-200 aircraft of Alaska Airlines]] thumb|George W. Bush boards a [[VC-25 using the lower-level airstair.]] thumb|The Il-86, a wide-body airliner with airstairs into the lower cargo level. The rear airstair is also visible in this picture. thumb|The airstair on a business jet thumb|There were no passengers to accommodate on this business jet conversion for cargo operations. A manually-placed, folding airstair saved

Staircase on the Titanic

horizontal or weakly inclined part of a stairway

Stairway in Istanbul, Turkey

Type of building wing

The Strudlhofstiege (also known as the Strudlhof Steps) is an outdoor staircase of architectural and literary significance in Vienna, Austria. Located in the Alsergrund district, inside of Vienna’s 9th district between Liechtensteinstrasse and Währinger Strasse. It is named after a former art school run by the painter Peter Strudel ( – 1714).

thumb|Fillgraderstiege The Fillgraderstiege is a staircase in the sixth district of Vienna, Mariahilf. It was built from 1905 to 1907 and designed by Max Hegele, a student of Victor Luntz and Carl Hasenauer, in an Art Nouveau style to connect the two streets, Fillgradergasse and Theobaldgasse.

road in Aomori prefecture, Japan

optical illusion

street in Paris, France

historic stairway in Busan, South Korea