There are concrete steps leading to nowhere at the corner of First and Seymour streets in Napa. What are they and why are they there?

To get to the other side. Oh, no, that’s why the chicken crossed the road.

Local historian Rebecca Yerger said these concrete steps are an example of what were called “carriage stoops.” These stoops were usually found in front of middle- or upper-class homes and were used in the old days when horse-drawn carriages were all the rage and people needed to step up to get into them and step down when getting out.

Yerger said carriages usually had an iron step that would come off of the carriage (a kick-stand of sorts), which would extend out to the stoop. These came in particularly handy for women, since women in these days typically wore corsets, long dresses and boots, which combined would severely constrict a lady’s movement. Without these stoops, it would be too easy to step into gutters, or, worse, fall, especially in inclement weather. Roads were not always in the best condition, either. Stoops provided easy entrances and exits.

Yerger said these stoops could once be found at regular intervals throughout the city. Nowadays, with street-side improvements, these once-practical fixtures have gone by the wayside as they no longer serve a purpose (except for historians and newspaper columnists, of course).

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