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Question about funky stairs

chloecat
18 years ago

Our (approximately) 100-year-old home is a former two-family flat that has been converted to a single-family home. Our "front" stairs are interesting, in that the bottom 7 stairs are hinged, and lift up on a counterweighted spring mechanism to allow access to the basement.

When this was a two-family home, this was the way the upstairs tenants were able to access the basement. The downstairs tenants had "regular" stairs to the basement under the "back stairs" - which were the only access to the backyard for the upstairs tenants.

Anyway - these "Addams Family Stairs" are odd to us, and apparently odd to everyone in our city. The mechanism has this wording:

Rodgers Automatic Stair Door

St. Louis

Patent October 12, 1915

Interestingly, this date puts our house at much later construction - if these stairs were installed originally - than previously thought, based on title searches and items found in the house.

Anybody know what I'm talking about, or have any idea how often this method of basement entry was used?

TIA!

Comments (15)

  • housekeeping
    18 years ago

    Never heard of it, but it's cool to have the original name plate and date. Probably added afterward, but even if patent date is correct that's not too far off your estimate of 100- y.o. farm house. (It still feels like the early years of the 00's but after Dec., we're on the backside and gaining fast!)

  • Clare
    18 years ago

    How interesting. I've never seen anything like that, but now I will be looking for it. I guess it is possible the stairs were altered later.

    Is this a row house--houses built wall-to-wall? That is the ony reason I can figure for the basement being the only access to the backyard for the upstairs tennant. Or are you saying the "back stairs" came down from the second floor in the back yard?

    If you are in St. Louis City, you can look up online (or in person at city hall) the ownership and tax info on any house. I found a clue there that told me my house was built a few years earlier than I thought from the info the previous owners had given me.

    Again, if you are in St. Louis, it might be mildly interesting to hear that the old LaCoutier Stair Company building burned about a month ago. Only a brick shell and the UGLY front stairs are left.

  • chloecat
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Nope - not a row house. Just a typical 2-family flat, much like those in Soulard.

    The "back stairs" were the upstairs flat's backyard access.

    Where's the LaCoutier Stair Company building? I hadn't heard about that.

  • Clare
    18 years ago

    It is just north of The Hill, very close to the old State Hospital. It had been closed for a very long time. It's next door to an also long-closed stone dealer where right along the sidewalk there are walls of samples of all kinds of rock for construction. It is another ugly, but cool place. This city used to have so much industry...no more.

    Actually my old house may have been built specifically for workers at another nearby factory--back in the days when factory workers were paid very little. Thus my house is really tiny, with not much special about it except its sturdiness. But to bring it back to old stairs, my house did get stairs relocated. Just after WWII, an upstairs was added--a kitchen, half bath, and bedroom. So as not to waste space, the stairs to the basement were relocated to lie right under the new stairs to the second floor. Previously the only basement access was from the outside, backyard.

  • joed
    18 years ago

    I would guess one of two things happened.
    1.There was an addition or renovation done to the house.
    2.The original mechanism failed and was replaced.

  • buddyben
    18 years ago

    Any chance it was a single family house before it became a two family house?

  • chloecat
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    LOL - we can see the State Hospital dome from our house! Cool - I'll drive over that way and take a look sometime.

    No, Buddy - it was built as a two-family. That's guaranteed. There are a zillion of these in St. Louis.

    Joed, I'm thinking the failed mechanism might be the right answer.

    I'll try to get a pic posted here some day.

    Thanks for all the help!

  • rodgers
    16 years ago

    William F. Rodgers was my grandfather, I still have the patent paperwork for the stairs and the advertising brochure with my mother(at age 12) demonstrating how easy the stairs operated. These were a godsend to the second floor dwellers who in the cold STL winter had to go out the front door, go around to the back basement door to the laundry or trash.

    I helped my grandfater install a Stairdoor as late as 1950. The marvel of this door was the weight and balance and not requiring electricity as some present doors.

    My grandfathers shop is now part of the Convention center and where our sawmill was is now the left foot of the ARCH.

    He made considerable money on the Stairdoors but lost most of it on other inventions.

  • antiquesilver
    16 years ago

    This is so interesting - & to have the mechanism explained by the inventor's grandson! I'm in VA & have never seen anything like this, but I will definitely be keeping an eye out for such an oddity.

  • badhbh
    16 years ago

    Well, glad you got an answer :)
    And the fact that you have a stair door is the coolest thing EVER. :)

  • weed30 St. Louis
    16 years ago

    Linked below is a house for sale in St. Louis, with pictures of the "stairs under the stairs". Click on the 3rd and 4th pics. Pretty cool.

    Here is a link that might be useful: clicky

  • bas157
    16 years ago

    that's really neat! Click on the link that says 'more images' and you can see a close up picture of what I guess is the counterweight.

  • Katie S
    16 years ago

    Wow! I am sooo impressed, These things are amazing! And how cool that the grandchild of the originator chimed in.

  • stanleytx_msn_com
    15 years ago

    I would like to build/install this type of Herman Munster stair case in my house. Does anyone know of any kits or even random pictures that I could use to better plan the project?

  • rodgers
    14 years ago

    I am sorry didn't check this site sooner. The stairs were dominate in the south St. Louis area. Primarile in the duplex flats. Look for these homes for sale and do a site visit. My brother in law forund a set that had been removed when converting to a single family home. If there are wrecking yard you might check there. If I can find a way to ppost the brochure on this site I will do so.