Why is Baldwin Street famous?

Guinness World Records recognises Baldwin Street as the steepest street in the world.

Where is Baldwin Street situated?

The road is located in the suburb of North East Valley, northeast of the Dunedin central business district.

Why is the street so steep?

Planners in London drew the street grid without accommodating the actual hillside topography of the city.

Who is the street named after?

The street was named after William Baldwin, an Otago provincial councillor and newspaper founder who subdivided the land.

Did Baldwin Street ever lose its record title?

Guinness World Records briefly awarded the title to Ffordd Pen Llech in Wales before restoring it to Baldwin Street after reviewing gradient measurements along the centreline.

Dunedin · New Zealand

Baldwin Street: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Living along the North East Valley slopes turns daily errands into a steep physical workout and brings steady streams of visiting onlookers right past front windows.

About the place

Now in the cityBaldwin Street+10°CCloudyupdated 04:41 AM

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About the place

Baldwin Street climbs steeply through a residential Dunedin neighbourhood, drawing global interest for its extreme gradient.

The street cuts through the North East Valley suburb northeast of the central business district. Its extreme incline occurred without deliberate design, resulting from colonial planners in London drafting standard grid maps without reviewing the local topography. Surveyor Charles Kettle mapped the layout, and newspaper founder William Baldwin later divided the surrounding land for residential use.

Read on

Guinness World Records recognised the slope as the steepest street in the world after broadcaster Jim Mora campaigned on its behalf against rival roads in San Francisco. A temporary dispute arose when Welsh street Ffordd Pen Llech claimed the title, prompting surveyor Toby Stoff and local residents to appeal the measurement method and restore the global record along the centreline.

Associations

North East ValleyThe residential suburb containing the steep road layout.
Guinness World RecordThe international benchmark crowning the steepest street.
Colonial Grid PlanningPlanners in London mapped grids without assessing terrain.
Ffordd Pen LlechA Welsh rival road that sparked an axis measurement review.

Facts

London planners designed the street layout on a grid without checking the physical terrain.
William Baldwin subdivided the land after serving as an Otago Provincial Councillor.
Local surveyor Toby Stoff organized the formal appeal that restored the world record.
The street sits within the residential North East Valley suburb of Dunedin.

Updated September 21, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Baldwin Street: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Baldwin Street climbs steeply through a residential Dunedin neighbourhood, drawing global interest for its extreme gradient.

Getting there and staying

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