I don’t know why this is, but I’ve found that in buildings of a certain size, there are often stairwells that are barely ever used. Either because of their placement in the building, or because of nearby elevators, there is always a stairwell that exists for fire escape purposes, but is rarely used day in and day out. I guess I have a preference for stairs, but I always seem to find these stairwells in buildings. I knew my way all around the buildings of UConn because of this, and would often travel stairwells that I could tell had not been used since my last visit.
I always find these places interesting, for the same reasons I find abandoned buildings interesting. Perhaps even more so, since they’re so close to an actively traveled space. There’s something a little magical about being in a place that took so many resources to put together, and so much collective knowledge, and being the only person getting the use of it. I get a similar feeling by walking down empty streets at night. It’s nice to be able to find these places that aren’t far off the beaten path, and stairwells are the most common I encounter.