Livegreenblog and the stairs of Manhattan

New York City - and Manhattan in particular - is synonymous with skyscrapers, iconic landmarks in the skyline. But it also has its fair share of brick buildings with exterior fire escapes - to the joy of tourists on foot, wandering around the backstreets like we did.



New York City's fire escapes are a hallmark of the urban landscape, not just useful in an emergency but also used as a kind of balcony, a small getaway outside - an opening over the city.
They piqued our interest and as we delved into the history of these fire escapes we discovered that in most cases they weren't built at the same time as the buildings they seem to be one with. Often they date back to the early 1900s when the buildings were converted for industrial use as an emergency exit for the workers.





So, in New York things have been moving for a while now to remove them from the facades because they're no longer a safe escape route in the event of fire. As the official from the NYC fire department (FDNY) said last year ““Those fire escapes are going the way of the dinosaur”.





And the people involved in refurbishments, particularly in Soho - like architect Joseph Pell Lombardi - seem to be on the same wavelength. He believes these buildings are far more attractive without this post-construction add-on.





Whatever way it goes, the fire escapes in New York City have left their mark in our collective imagination - in no small part because of the many films where they were used as part of the scenery.



As we strolled around Manhattan, walking from Central Park to Little Italy, through Chelsea and Greenwich Village we couldn't resist, so we're sharing some of our favourite fire escapes with our readers.

Christiane Bürklein

Images: (c) Christiane Bürklein, last (c) Paolo Schianchi