Dangerous Stairs In St. Nicholas Park

Once upon a time, there were magical steps that students sat upon as they gazed up at Music and Art. During that long ago time, simply walking up and down the wooden staircase was an adventure.

Park stairs to St Nicholas Terrace in 1944

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Before 1953, when M&Aers made the trek from St. Nicholas Avenue up the hill through St. Nicholas Park to get to St. Nicholas Terrace & 135th Street, their final climb to the Castle was met by the wooden monster you see in the surrounding photos.​

Winter 1949

Spring 1951

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Audition Stories

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Imagine rainy and windy days as you attempt to move up and down this platform. Now imagine blinding snowy days as you try to progress each tentative step. The Music and Art students who made that Castle trip were very well aware of how this felt for nearly years twenty (1936 - 1953).

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Fortunately, during the summer of 1953, the old wooden stairway was torn down to replace it with the sturdy stone many of us would trek up and down from 1953 to 1984.

Stairways to the Castle - 1957

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Stairway to St. Nicholas Terrace - 2012

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See you at the next reunion at the Castle once the present renovations are finished
​and remember to watch your step.

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The STAIRWAY - tells of an extraordinary life: suffragist, settlement worker, peace activist, journalist, labour activist, college teacher, and itinerant catalyst for social change. ​

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