Baldwin Steps - History

History

The Steps are located on the shorecliff of the ancient Lake Iroquois on a public right-of-way connecting two sections of Spadina Road. The sheerness of the cliff prevented the construction of Spadina Road directly down the escarpment. Instead a roadway crossing of the escarpment was cut a few hundred yards to the west. A set of wooden steps were installed to allow people to move through the area. The original wooden stairs were replaced with a permanent structure in 1913. Along the top of the cliff some of Toronto's most exclusive homes were constructed including Casa Loma and Spadina House.

In the 1960s the proposed Spadina Expressway would have replaced the stairs site with a six-lane highway exiting from a tunnel to the north. The Expressway project was cancelled in 1971 by the Ontario government. As part of the project, the land of the stairs became the property of the Ontario government. In 1984, the land was leased to the City of Toronto for 99 years. In 1987, the City rebuilt the Steps site with new railings, concrete stairs and expanded landings, following the original zig-zag path up the cliff. At this time, the Steps were given the formal name of the "Baldwin Steps" to commemorate Robert Baldwin, whose family owned the land before it became a public pathway.