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

Woodbine Subway Station

Woodbine Subway

The Woodbine Subway station is on the Bloor-Danforth line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).  The station was opened in 1966 and today services approximately 13,000 people a day.  That number goes up during the warmer months of the year when many come through Woodbine station to get to the “Beaches” of Toronto.

Clockwise: Beaches Library, Firehall No. 217
R.C. Harris Treatment Plant, "Gardener's House"
(Kew Gardens), Fox Theatre House

The “Beaches” is a very popular spot, frequented by Torontonians and is also a well known tourist attraction.  Regular bus routes travel southbound from the station, taking you to an unbroken stretch of sandy shoreline that is never-ending to the naked eye.  Along the lake, there are streetcars running to and from downtown along Queen Street East.

There is so much to do in such a large area which extends from Victoria Park to Kingston Rd, Eastern Avenue to the shores of Lake Ontario.  Trendy and eclectic, the Beaches offers so much for everyone.  We went for a walk along the boardwalk on Sunday.  The boardwalk covers most of the length of the beach from east to west.  Near the east end there is a sewage treatment plant and on a hot humid day, you’ll know exactly what they’re treating!  But this time of year, in the fall, where the air is cool and the winds are high, pollution and smog aren’t a problem.  There are four beaches in the area: Balmy, Scarborough, Kew and Woodbine.  In the summer Woodbine, Kew and Balmy beach are all safe to swim in.  But it’s too cold now for that, so we just checked out a few places.

I don’t know if many of you ever had time to check out the historic buildings in the Beaches area since most of us really just go there to rollerblade, or have picnics, bike ride or just hang out by the beach.  But the Beaches area has been around as an attraction since before the first World War so there’s a lot of history here.  I love historical buildings and there are many designated under the Ontario Heritage act (see Rosedale and College Subway). 

Boardwalk and Kew Beach

Beaches Branch Public library was built in 1916, is gorgeous and has been revamped a few times, but kept its original integrity; it’ at 2161 Queen East.  The Dominion Bank at Queen and Lee was built 1911.  There is an old Movie house which is still operating called the Fox theatre, built in 1914, located at Queen and Beech Avenues. Kew Beach Firehall, No. 17 was built in 1905! It’s still used today. Finally we saw the Kew Williams House located at 30 Lee Avenue, built 1901-1902.

What a great day to be out! Hope you all get a chance to enjoy it.

Warden Subway Station

Inside Warden Station

The Warden Subway Station is located on the Bloor Danforth line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and was opened to the public in 1968.  On street level it’s situated at the southeast corner of St. Clair and Warden.  It sees only about 25,000 people day and for the most  part the area is pretty much an industrial wasteland. 

But Toronto has big plans for this undeveloped area.  What once used to be a Centennial  College site as well as a huge shopping mall (Warden Woods Mall/Power centre), has now become rubble and dirt paving the way to new housing developments.  Of course, what did you think?

Taylor Massey Creek

In all fairness though, Toronto is never scarce of abundant nature all around and I am seeing more and more of this everyday. 

If you walk across the street in what seems to be a bleak industrial zone for now, you’ll soon discover nice hiking trails like this one off of Warden Avenue, west of St. Clair.  Its called the Taylor Massey Creek Trail and although I don’t think you’ll find any fish in these shallow water flows, you’ll still get some pretty views in sight.  Not to mention it’s now early November and soon snow will fall on these parts.  I am already seeing signs of less and less green and more greys and browns.  Next spring when the rains fall heavily, I’m sure this spot is much prettier to look at.    

Greenwood Subway Station

Greenwood Subway Station

The Greenwood Subway Station is on the Bloor Danforth Line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Although its called Greenwood station it is located on the corner of Linnsmore Avenue  and Strathmore Blvd near Danforth, just a block east of Greenwood. The station was opened in 1966 around the time the Greenwood Yards were being constructed. This marked the opening of the first segment of the Bloor –Danforth lines. 

Greenwood Yard- Photo by Voransicht (not me)

Although the station itself only sees about 9,000 people a day, the Greenwood Yard is the largest on the Transit system, located at Greenwood and Danforth Avenues. TTC personnel are the only ones who can get access to the yard through a secret fork in the underground tunnel running south of the east/west passenger tracks. The trains are stored overnight here that aren’t in service.

TO Works at work

Probably passed by Greenwood station for years and not once saw the inside of the station. Coming into the City from the east end of Toronto, commuters were at a standstill due to a water main breakage outside the station on November 3, 2010. The water flooded into the stations and onto the tracks down into the Greenwood Yard. Power was shut off to prevent electrical fires because the water touched the third rail. This caused delays on the entire Bloor-Danforth line and by 8:30 am trains were back on track, but now passengers had to contend with the long waits to get onboard.

Outside the Greenwood station, there were 26 shuttle buses provided running between Woodbine and Broadview. Just another example how efficient the infrastructure is and how much we depend on it to get around.

Before and After (am photo Citypulse / pm photo - me)

On my way home today, I took some pictures of the final clean up by our Toronto City Work crews. Service as usual and water main repaired. 

Sir Greek and Sir Sub ;)

I also took some last minute shots of the outside area since I lived at Pape and Danforth for years so was familiar with the area from the outside. Theres a nice mixture of small pubs, eaterys and fruit markets around. No major food stores though and I found this strange Tim Hortons shop that looked more like a small movie house and a Sir Greek & Sir Sub shop! I guess the owner is somehow related to Mr. Greek and Mr. Sub? Any ways just another day in paradise.