Oct 7, 2010

Bayview Subway

The Bayview Subway Station is on the Sheppard Line and was open to the public in 2002. It has an awesome single level design and has an interesting variety of trompe l’oeil drawings on the floors and walls.

Outside the station, there is a look of mid-century architecture with these overhanging roofs and this cool looking building behind it!
I remember when I was a tween I used to have to take the Sheppard Bus from Don Mills along Sheppard to Bayview and get off at this corner (Bayview/Sheppard) to proceed north on Bayview Avenue to get to my school. It was such a long trek in the morning and the subway would have been cool but I was born too early for that! The YMCA still stands on the South/West corner and is directly adjacent to the Subway exits.
Of course the ritzy Bayview Village Shopping Centre is still there. I remember as a kid it was an outdoor mall, like all malls were in the late 60’s. A bakery shop with a giant brass door knob placed on a wooden door that opened into a world of magic. Smells of fresh bread and sweet rolls permeate the air and a wooden clock on the wall softly ticking with the shiny brass pendulum back and forth. Back then K-Mart was the main shopping place for sporting goods, clothes, shoes, stationery. You get the idea. I remember my father coming home one night with a $50 bill in his wallet and told my brother and I to get dressed because we were going to K-Mart to shop! I came home late that night with a new dress and I don’t even remember what my brother got, but it was a great night. Now the shops at Bayview Village are mostly too expensive for me and my family, but that’s okay because it is enjoyed by the average consumer that brings in an income of over $100,000. Sunshine's Restaurant is still there and apparently offers an awesome brunch and salad bar!