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