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.