Five city staircases to get repairs over next three years
Peter Black
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
Five of Quebec City’s staircases between Upper and Lower Town are slated for major renovation over the next three years.
According to information obtained from the provincial call for tenders website, the five staircases are Escalier des Franciscains in Montcalm; Escalier du Faubourg, between Saint-Roch and Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhoods; Escalier Frontenac, between Old Quebec and Côte de la Montagne; Escalier Lepine, between Saint-Roch and Saint-Jean Baptiste, behind the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul site; and Escalier de la Chapelle, between Côte d’Abraham and Rue Saint-Vallier Est.
The call for tenders stipulates work is to begin next year on two of the staircases, des Franciscains and du Faubourg. The Lepine and de la Chapelle structures are slated for 2026, and Frontenac in 2027.
City spokesperson Wendy Whittom told the QCT, “The objective of the call for tenders is to determine the work necessary to ensure the sustainability of the stairs, so for the moment, the nature of the work to be done has not been determined. It will be once the preliminary study has been carried out.”
She said, “While it carries out ongoing maintenance on these structures, the city prioritizes the restoration of its assets based on their level of obsolescence.”
While the city hopes to minimize the impact on pedestrian traffic during the work on the staircases, one of them is in a critical tourism zone. The Escalier Frontenac is a main passage between Old Quebec and Dufferin Terrace to the popular destinations of Rue du Petit-Champlain, Côte de la Montagne and Parc Montmorency. The staircase, with its 115 steps, was built in 1976, and is situated next to the funicular in the shadow of the Château Frontenac.
While perhaps in a less dense traffic zone, the Escalier du Faubourg, built in 1931, is a convenient way to go from the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhood to Saint-Roch. Access will be further complicated next year by the closure of the Faubourg elevator for 10 months in 2025 for major repairs.
The oldest staircase, Escalier Lépine, was built in 1883 to connect what was then a bustling village in Lower Town with the shops and attractions in Upper Town. Featuring ornate wrought-iron entrance arches, the staircase was designed by famed city architect Charles Baillairgé and named for Germain Lépine, founder of the Lepine-Cloutier funeral home located on Rue Saint-Vallier.
For many years the most frequently used staircase between Upper and Lower Town, Escalier Lépine has become less popular with development changes in Upper Town. It may get more attention in the coming years with the proposed housing project targeted for the now vacant site of the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul centre.