Storm-damaged Escalier des Franciscains to be torn down and rebuilt
Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
cassandra@qctonline.com
Pedestrians looking for a shortcut between Saint-Sauveur and Montcalm will have to find an alternative to the Escalier des Franciscains. After a major storm in June, the city closed the staircase for safety reasons. On Aug. 29, city officials announced it would be demolished and rebuilt.
“Closed since June 26, the staircase has undergone inspections to assess the feasibility of reopening safely. However, the inspections revealed significant deterioration and instability of the structure and its foundations, particularly due to the torrential rains experienced this summer. These findings led the city to decide to proceed with its preventive demolition to ensure the safety of residents,” the Ville de Québec communications and citizen relations service said in a statement.
“The work, which includes demolition, soil stabilization, and site restoration, is scheduled for completion by the end of September 2025 and will be carried out by city teams,” the statement said. “The preliminary design for the staircase reconstruction will be submitted in the fall of 2025. The call for tenders for the production of plans and specifications will be launched in the following months. The reconstruction … will aim for greater resilience to current and future climate conditions, as well as additional considerations to ensure the long-term stability of the structure.” The full cost of the reconstruction will not be known until after the call for tenders.
The Escalier des Franciscains has connected Ave. de l’Alverne in Montcalm to Rue Saint-Germain in Saint- Sauveur since the early 20th century. For over 100 years, Quebecers have been running up these 178 steps, originally built to connect two lines of the first Quebec City Tramway. Ac- cording to the Ville de Québec register of heritage buildings, the staircase was named after the nearby Franciscan monastery, built in 1901 on Ave. de l’Alverne. In 1982, the city bought the building with its 106 apartments.
The Escalier des Franciscains earned a bit of fame when it was mentioned in Roger Lemelin’s novel Les Plouffe. It was even one of the many filming locations of the 1981 movie of the same name, directed by Gilles Carle.
It was regularly used until the infamous tempest of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day 2025. The June 23 storm, which ripped trees apart, caused power outages and floods and led to the cancellation of the long-planned Grand spectacle de la Fête nationale on the Plains of Abraham, also damaged the staircase. On the afternoon of June 26, the city closed off the staircase indefinitely. “Over the next few days, the city will conduct a thorough assessment of the situation to identify solutions for a safe and rapid reopening, officials said at the time.
Its users have been forced to find an alternative route to their destination – via Côte de l’Aqueduc, Escalier Victoria or Côte de la Pente-Douce.
While the summit is fully blocked off, the base of the Escalier des Franciscains allows people to see the underside and pillars. Looking closely, cracks are clearly visible in the foundations.
With files from QCT staff