Spadina: A Story of Old Toronto

Few houses in Toronto have had such an interesting history as Spadina, standing on Davenport Hill east of Casa Loma. The first house on the site was built in 1818 by Dr. William Warren Baldwin. This two-storey frame building burned down in 1835, and a smaller house was built by Baldwin in the same year. In 1866 it was bought from Baldwin's grandson by James Austin, who tore it down and built another which is still standing and still lived in by a member of the Austin family. Thus for over 150 years the property has been occupied by only two families. 

These families had much in common. William Warren Baldwin and James Austin were both Irish immigrants with extraordinary ability. To each Spadina was not just a house, but a symbol of family stability and permanence. Other families built houses near Spadina. All but Spadina and Casa Loma have been demolished, and only Spadina remains the family home it has been for generations. 

In 1818, when Spadina was first built, it was a country house some distance from the town. Metropolitan Toronto has swept past the property, leaving it an anachronistic oasis in the heart of a changing city. This house's story, and the story of those who lived there, is part of the history of Toronto.