(that part impresses me the most. lol) It was the ultimate pain to get it down to our basement (the stairway was way too small so it had to be taken apart and rebuilt by a professional) but totally worth it, in my opinion.

I would find out what your local building code is for stairways, step width, stair tread, riser height and incline,, just as you think.. this is complicated. just because it's grandfathered in doesn't make it less of a obstacle just makes it a legal obstacle that someone can always find a lawyer to help in filing a suit.. 

When we purchased the house, it was just used as a decorative wall that stood out from the living room/stairway area.The person we purchased this property from glued weird "tiles" on the chimney for decoration.