Post: $2M from Province to Subway Station Revitalization

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Queen's Park contributes to subway station make-overs
Charitable group to renovate three downtown stops

James Cowan, National Post
Published: Friday, June 09, 2006

The Ontario government yesterday committed $2-million toward refurbishing Toronto subway stations, beginning with a plan to brighten the platform at Museum station with fake totem poles, Greek columns and Egyptian sarcophagi.

The Toronto Community Foundation, a charitable organization, wants to renovate three downtown stations to make them reflect nearby cultural attractions.

Along with creating an air of antiquity at Museum station, the group wants to splash murals on the walls of St. Patrick station, which serves the Art Gallery of Ontario, and revitalize Osgoode station to reflect its proximity to the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Anne Swarbrick, the foundation's president and CEO, said the make-overs will serve to link "the above-ground attractions and the below-ground platforms."

Refurbishing Museum station will take between $4-million and $5-million; the total cost for the three stations is estimated at $14-million.

The TTC has agreed to pay one-quarter of the costs, while funds are also being solicited from the private sector.

"We have been engaging private interests in public spaces in this city," Ms. Swarbrick said.

The foundation still needs to raise $250,000 to complete the Museum station renovation. However, as fundraising efforts continue, the TTC intends to begin work on Museum this year and complete the first platform makeover by November, 2007.

Howard Moscoe, the TTC's chairman, noted the Museum station desperately needs a facelift. "More than 430 million people each year ride the TTC. Most of them pass through this location, look around and see early Canadian washroom architecture," he said.

Mr. Moscoe said he hoped the beautification project would extend to other stations, noting he has already received requests for a "Casa Loma" station.

"This will be the beginning of the rebirth of our subway stations, because it is too good of an idea to keep down," Mr. Moscoe said.

William Thorsell, CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum, praised the foundation for taking an interest in deteriorating public spaces.

"We live in a city that needs to be angrier about the quality of public space," Mr. Thorsell said. "I think this project shows we are stepping out of the miasma."

jcowan@nationalpost.com
_________________________________________________

What really needs work is the entrance to some of these stations.

AoD

 

[MrOttawa]

Toronto subway stations will never be compared to Paris or Moscow. But they can be pleasant, attractive and interesting. Maybe new subway stations in the core will also be themed.

Just think a gay, hetro, skydome, Restaurant-food, corporate america themed stations.

 

[andreapalladio]

Oh, dear god, no...

 

[GregWTravels]

I like this idea. I always liked the train station in Paris by the museums that had exhibits in the stations. Really adds some character to the city.

 

[ahrvojic]

Howard Moscoe, the TTC's chairman, noted the Museum station desperately needs a facelift.

I can think of many more stations that "desperately" need a facelift before Museum.

 

[building babel]

With money comes power.

Beware rogue benefactors bearing gifts.

 

[spmarshall]

I can think of many more stations that "desperately" need a facelift before Museum.

Absolutely Museum is plain, but is well kept. Dundas for one needs work at the platform level very, very badly. Wilson is looking pretty grim as well, especially with the fading 1970s tourism pictures (though if you wanted to see a picture of a GM New Look in Gray Coach colours, this station is for you).

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

^ If the TTC auctions them off, I'm there.

 

[wyliepoon]

I'm still unimpressed with the makeover plans for stations like Museum. I still think the idea of turning platform columns into columns and mummy cases a very weak, kitschy design solution. I have a feeling TTC, or whatever contractor TTC will hire to redo Museum, won't do a good job replicating those great pieces of art.

Mr. Moscoe said he hoped the beautification project would extend to other stations, noting he has already received requests for a "Casa Loma" station.

Hopefully he's not talking about re-doing Dupont Station. It's one of the most impressive stations in the system. I'd hate to trade that bold modern look for a medieval gothic design!

Howard Moscoe, the TTC's chairman, noted the Museum station desperately needs a facelift. "More than 430 million people each year ride the TTC. Most of them pass through this location, look around and see early Canadian washroom architecture," he said.

I don't recall seeing this at Museum station...

 

[interchange42]

very cute wylie!

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[pw20]

I hate this plan. While most of our stations do not look like Paris or Moscow they do have a distinct and rather ageless look to them. Think of the concrete monstrosity's in Montreal, great spaces, but look rather aged. The Egyptian theme is gimmicky at best, will be built half-assed, and will not be maintained properly. Of all the things that are broken with the TTC Museum station isn't one of them and in this case, if it ain't broke then don't fix it.
Wouldn't 5 million buy the rooftop patio on the Four Season's Centre, or the glass overhang on Adelaide Street that were both cut because of costs?
Our subway stations have a history of being, clean, efficient and modern (in the nineteen fifties streamlined way) why change it?

 

[Chuck100]

I agree with that last comment. Nothing short of a complete renovation of every single station will allow the subway to look classy. And even then, it will still be boxy. By all means build new stations on new subway lines to stricter architectural guidelines, however I just don't see the point of spending all this money on hoaky and fake makeovers.

I personally like the continuity of Toronto's subway architecture, particularly on the Yonge line. However I will admit that the Bloor subway is not much to be proud of.

 

[stokell]

There are a few stations that need updating desperately, but Dupont or Museum arn't any of them. Osgoode station is discusting

 

[building babel]

I am so glad we're having this discussion again, because it reconnects us with the sort of conceptual issues that are at the heart of all design decisions.

In this case, the merits of a unified, system-wide design versus a system that relies on different designs for each station.

We lost sight of the first option when the Spadina line was built in the late 1970's and are now apparently locked into a quest for "novelty value" for each new station that is built.

And even this second option is now complicated by rich rogue benefactors, and a weak and aimless leadership at the TTC that has allowed them to pick and choose the stations they deem worthy of "improvement". As a result, even the visual unity of some of the original stations in the system is about to be compromised.

 

[interchange42]

That unity was trashed long ago: of the original 12 Yonge line stations, only Eglinton has its original tiling, and the renos to the other 11 were done at a time when then General Manager Al Leach was heard to say that the new designs (like the particularly horrid yellow at Dundas and green at Rosedale) were chosen to encourage people to move on, not linger (or loiter) in the stations. They were meant to be ugly!

When you build a system over many decades, architectural styles come and go, materials change, and technology advances, and new requirements are made of the system (handicap accessibility), so designs will change and updates will be made, and unity is nearly impossible to maintain. Fonts are one way to do it however, but since the Spadina extension, the exclusive TTC font has been severely diluted by Univers and Helvetica. A decision could be made to standardize all TTC font usage over time, and some evidence suggest one has been made, but unfortunately, to my mind, not with the exclusive TTC font.

Then there's the ability of the TTC to come up with the money to restyle up to 69 stations in a way that would show a untiy of style. Ouch - that would cost - they're still struggling to keep the system in a good state of repair. Have you seen all the water damage on the system? It's a huge battle underground!

Anyway, those are some hastily slapped together thoughts - time to start the weekend - I'm off!

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