Nov 23, 2010

Ossington Subway Station


Inside Station-difference in lighting from one
end of the track to the other
1 of several artists murals outside
Daycares in Neighbourhood
 The Ossington Subway station is on the Bloor – Danforth Subway line and was opened to the public in 1966 and serves about 25,000 people a day.   There are great bus connections going in every direction.  On the outside of the station I noticed a beautiful wall mural that was drawn on a wall outside of a daycare center. The painting depicts a varied race of parents and babies in a mythological setting.  One onlooker had told me that it once was a police station.  I ponder at the image and just take it in as an elaborate form of advertisement since there are more than one mural in the neighbourhood that adorn other daycare walls.  I would still rather see this type of thing instead of the usual stereotypical form of advertisement.


Janes Walk 2010
Ossington station is also a meeting place of many once of year who come to gather for “Janes Walk – The Wizard of Ossington” . There are over 40 “Janes Walks” across Toronto – all meeting up at various subway stations throughout the year.  The walks were originally the brainchild of  the late Jane Jacobs, who believed that we were losing 5 important pillars in our lives. To quote her, these are the lists that culturally if we lose them, she believed we may as well be entering the Dark Ages again.

1. Community and Family
2. Higher Education
3. The Effective Practice of Science
4. Taxation and Government
5. Self-policing by Learned Professions             “

The walks are designed to bring us together as a community, to learn about our culture, our neighbourhoods and to stop, and look around at a slower pace. 


You can find a list of walks to get involved in at www.janeswalk.net