Broadview and Castle Frank Subway Stations

Inside Broadview and Castle Frank Stations

Broadview and Castle Frank Stations are on the Bloor-Danforth line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).  Both stations were opened in 1966 and are both underground railway structures.  They are connected by the Bloor Viaduct which was constructed as a truss arch bridge, at a cost of $2.5 million (in today's inflation dollar it is equivalent to $36 million) and opened on October 18, 1918 as the Prince Edward Viaduct System.




Today it's more commonly known as the Bloor Viaduct, which covers a span of 1680 feet or 494 metres and connects the City from Bloor street East to Danforth avenue passing over the Don Valley parkway, the Bayview extension and Riverdale Park.

I found this huge air vent on the west
 side of the bridge. What it's for? 

Bloor Viaduct-Built 1918-note the "Luminous Veil"

Suicide Magnet-Long way down

I've crossed over this bridge a hundred times in my life by different modes of transportation.  By car, by bike and by train.  So I decided today since there was such a rich history in the construction to accommodate mass transportation in the City, I would enlist both Broadview and Castle Frank stations together in my research of the transit system here in Toronto.  What a gorgeous day it was to do it too!  I was able to take lots of pictures and spent most of my Saturday reading about the Viaduct.




Like many bridges in large cities, this one isn't any different as far as being a suicide magnet.   Its original design did not include the "luminous veil" which was put up in 2003 at a cost of $5 million dollars to prevent grief-stricken people from ending their lives by jumping over the bridge.  It also was to protect the traffic underneath in danger of being hit by a fallen body.  A sign is erected at the western most part of the bridge, which indicates the phone number to the distress center, standing by 24 hours a day to help listen and hopefully saving a life that day.
Beside it is a Bell public phone which requires no coin if you dial the helpline.

Although statistics have proven that the steel rods which look and behave much the same way as a ships mast, do not prevent suicides.  This is to the dismay of many unsympathetic people who feel that the view has been disturbed and was put up in vain due to the fact that one who is in that frame of mind may find alternative choices out of desperation.  As in the heart breaking story about Martin William Patrick McMullan, who jumped the 'Leaside Bridge' just  minutes away.  H was only 19 years old.  I pass by this whenever I am on the bike trail, and stop to pay my respects for the young man and think of his devastating last minutes.   These are pictures of the unprotected Leaside bridge.

Coxwell Subway Station

Coxwell Subway

The Coxwell subway station is on the Bloor-Danforth subway line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).  On street level it is located at the corner of Coxwell and Danforth Avenues.  It was opened in 1966 and serves about 16,000 a day.

The Coxwell subway station is used as a switchover point for the subway operators coming on and off their shifts on the Bloor-Danforth line (east-west), just as the Eglinton station is used as a switchover on the Yonge-University Spadina line (north-south). There are sometimes slight delays at this station because of the switch changes.

Just minutes away from the station is the lovely Monarch Park and The Toronto East General Hospital which was opened for patient care in 1929.  The land from which the hospital was built on was donated by Billy McKay Jr., who was a local pig farmer in Toronto (borough of East York) from 1862-1943. He was never married so with his wealth, he donated a large portion of his land (Coxwell and Mortimer Avenues) to the Town of East York.  This land was used for a Public School, a municipal building and the Toronto East General Hospital.

Toronto East General Hospital

     

Many war veterans were treated at the Toronto East York General Hospital, so many War Vets made East York their home after the war.  Today on the donated land, there is a Memorial Park and East York’s War Memorial cenotaph which is treasured by local residents.  

East York Cetopath (War Memorial)

Lest we forget