 thumb|spadina and cecil intersection, street signs spadina avenue is one of the most prominent streets in toronto, ontario, canada. running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. spadina avenue runs south from bloor street to the gardiner expressway, just north of lake ontario. lower spadina avenue continues the last block to the lake after the expressway. another street named spadina road continues north from bloor, but with new street address numbering starting over at zero. for much of its extent, spadina road is a less busy residential road (especially north of dupont street and the railway track underpass). ==history== spadina avenue is commonly pronounced with the i as  as in mine; the spadina house museum on spadina road is always pronounced with the i as in  as in ski. historically, the latter pronunciation was used, with the former a colloquialism that has developed over the years. the name originates from the ojibwa word ishpadinaa, meaning "high place/ridge" or "sudden rise in the land." the ishpatina ridge, in northern ontario, which is the highest point of land in the province of ontario, and the city of ishpeming, in the state of michigan's upper peninsula in marquette county both derive their name from the same word. spadina was the original name of the street from bloor street to queen street west, built by dr. william baldwin beginning in 1815. the southern portion was named brock street and remained so until 1884. baldwin designed the street, choosing its extra large width and placing the circle that is today 1 spadina crescent. he named the connecting baldwin street after himself, and phoebe street to the south was named after his wife phoebe baldwin. for a number of decades, spadina avenue and nearby kensington market were the centre o
Streets_in_Toronto