Queens Park Subway

The Queens Park Subway is located on the Yonge-University-Spadina Line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is located at Queens Park (College and University Avenues). The subway was opened in 1963. I'm afraid that coming here today was a bit of a rushed attempt to get to the street car and I didn't take many pictures. Will have to come back some time to take a look at the Queens Park and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario buildings. Perhaps at the same time as visiting Osgoode Hall!!

This station is also at a key central core of many important Hospitals including Sick Kids Childrens Hospital, Mount Sinai, Princess Margaret, Toronto General and Women's College Hospital here in Toronto. I've known someone who has been treated in each and every one of these hospitals ranging from a son quarantined at Sick Kids with a severe case of chicken pox, a friend operated on at Mount Sinai for complications with colitis, a relative losing a breast to cancer at Princess Margaret, a neighbour operated on after a car accident at Toronto General, and a female friend just looking for advice and someone to listen to her in a non-judgmental environment at the Women's College Hospital. All of these professional services within minutes of each other.

St. Clair Subway

The St. Clair Subway is located on the Yonge/University-Spadina line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and was opened to the public in 1954. At that time the World Headquarters of George Weston Food Inc. was located at the corner of St. Clair and Yonge. Today the intersection looks much different as you can see.
Now St. Clair /Yonge subway station intersects with two more subway stations (Warden in the East and St. Clair West (near Bathurst). I plan on visiting those two stations at a later time!! There are many shops and restaurants including an amazing sushi buffet that we ate at for lunch! The St. Clair Subway is within minutes of the Mount Pleasant Cemetary which is located on Mt. Pleasant Rd. It is actually closer to the Davisville subway station, but it was a such a beautiful crisp Fall day, the walk from St. Clair wasn't bad at all. The Cemetary is grounds to the most beautiful collection of trees in North America. There are also plots of famous figures such as Stavros (owner of the Leafs), Timothy Eaton and Sr. Mackenzie King (the longest termed prime minister of Canada). The cemetery is situated in parkland of deciduous trees and elms, willows and maples. We found this tree stump that was hit with lightning!

Another amazing day and I got there the better way! ;)

Osgoode Subway

Osgoode Subway station is located on the Yonge/University-Spadina line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and was opened in 1963. It was named Osgoode because of the nearby “Osgoode Hall”. I didn’t have enough time to visit Osgoode Hall today, as there was an impending quest for a Halloween Costume instead. I want to make a point of checking this out though. Bring a camera and do a self paced walk-through. I heard the “Great Library” is something else to see!

So there I was during Thanksgiving Long weekend coming out of Osgoode Subway and finding all kinds of amazing shops to see.

Queen and Spadina is just west along Queen Street and is a popular place for fashion and art and entertainment. Oh did I mention my quest for a Halloween costume? Found it here, including all the accessories that go with it. I plan to post myself in costume on Halloween at a TTC subway stop nearest you!

Osgoode is also within minutes of Toronto City Hall, The Four Season Centre for the Perfoming Arts, and the South African War Museum. You’ll probably notice as well the CityPulse 24 and CTV Head offices on Queen. We checked out the Rex, which has been there forever as a cool jazz spot if you’re into that kind of music. I only really like it with a glass of cold House White, otherwise I’m just there for someone else’s pleasure.

Check out the eclectic shops along Queen Street sometime because there really is something for everyone there ;)

Sheppard Subway

The Sheppard Station is on the Yonge/University-Spadina line and the Sheppard Subway lines of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The Sheppard Station was opened in 1974 as part of the Yonge/-University-Spadina line. By 2002, it was reopened to include the Sheppard Subway line. The Sheppard Centre is an indoor mall directly adjacent to the subway through the concourse level. I was tempted to check out a movie at the Odeon Cineplex Theatre, but we decided to do some shopping at Winners instead. For those of us into shoes, there’s a Payless Shoe Stores on the lower level, great for the variety and prices. We stopped and ate in the food court located on the lower level and then went out for a walk to look at an old neighbourhood of mine.

For one whole year of my childhood (that was in 1974) our family, my mom and dad and brother and I lived in a house. It was a simple 3 bedroom, 2 storey, A-framed home. No garage, no fancy fences. The corner house at Doris/Spring Garden Avenues. One of a row of detached homes built in the 1930's. The floors creaked in my room upstairs and I constantly hit my head on the outside corners of in my bedroom because of the slope of the ceiling. But I wouldn't trade any of the lumps I had because it was a great year. We had a dog that year too, but had to give it away when we moved back into an apartment. The entire backyard was huge, and here's a pic of what it once was, and what it is today.
The owners of the house had offered my parents an opportunity to buy the home, but changed their minds once their lawyer had urged them otherwise. Guess they saw the growth potential ;)

Today Sheppard and Yonge is minutes from the North York Civic Centre, The Hummingbird Theatre and Mel Lastman square. Old theatres ("The Willow", I remember going there on Saturday nights with friends) are all torn down and gorgeous shops and boutiques have taken its place, but you know they never are gone from your memory and that is something that revenue can't take away.

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!