In my 1911 home, there is a stairwell that has a 180 degree turn with a landing, and there is a light fixture directly overhead (centered over the railing) that I would like to replace. When I'm standing directly below it (halfway up the second flight of steps) the ceiling is about 3 feet out of my reach. I imagine there is some standard approach to doing this type of work (someone installed that light in the 1950's).

How can I get a stable ladder or platform in place to safely work on that fixture?

The second story ceiling is 8 feet 6 inches above the floor, as shown in this photo:

On the other side of the railing, the distance from the fixture to the closest step on the first flight is about 15 feet:

In my 1911 home, there is a stairwell that has a 180 degree turn with a landing, and there is a light fixture directly overhead (centered over the railing) that I would like to replace with a pendant light. When I'm standing directly below it (halfway up the second flight of steps) the ceiling is about 3 feet out of my reach. I imagine there is some standard approach to doing this type of work (someone installed that light in the 1950's).

How can I get a stable ladder or platform in place to safely work on that fixture?

The second story ceiling is 8 feet 6 inches above the floor, as shown in this photo:

On the other side of the railing, the distance from the fixture to the closest step on the first flight is about 15 feet:

This is what I intend to replace the fixture with:

In my 1911 home, there is a stairwell that has a 180 degree turn with a landing, and there is a light fixture directly overhead (centered over the railing) that I would like to replace. When I'm standing directly below it (halfway up the second flight of steps) the ceiling is about 3 feet out of my reach. The second story ceiling is 8 feet 6 inches above the floor. On the other side of the railing, the distance from the fixture to the closest step on the first flight is about 15 feet.

I imagine there is some standard approach to doing this type of work (someone installed that light in the 1950's). How can I get a stable ladder or platform in place to safely work on that fixture?

In my 1911 home, there is a stairwell that has a 180 degree turn with a landing, and there is a light fixture directly overhead (centered over the railing) that I would like to replace. When I'm standing directly below it (halfway up the second flight of steps) the ceiling is about 3 feet out of my reach. I imagine there is some standard approach to doing this type of work (someone installed that light in the 1950's). 

How can I get a stable ladder or platform in place to safely work on that fixture?

The second story ceiling is 8 feet 6 inches above the floor, as shown in this photo:

On the other side of the railing, the distance from the fixture to the closest step on the first flight is about 15 feet: