T2: Death of a terminal

January 6, 2007 - Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit Terminal 2 at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. The terminal is scheduled to be put out of service next month and will soon be demolished as all Air Canada and United flights to the USA move into the brand new Pier F at the new Terminal 1.

T2 was originally a freight terminal that got converted to passenger use in the late 1960s and was famous for it's long, stretched layout (and for having the first moving sidewalks in the city). T2 is definitely a far cry from its golden days when it served both domestic and international Air Canada flights. I personally have used T2 on many occasions, the first time was probably when I first arrived in Toronto as an eight-year-old kid, and the last time was probably when my our family went on a trip to Vancouver in 2001. Today, the terminal is eerily quiet. Half the terminal has already been shut down due to the lack of traffic. There are no stores, no souvenir stands and barely anyone walking around past the Air Canada counters and the passenger arrival area.

The gray concrete parking garage in the centre of the terminal, designed with lush plants to hide the cars and built like a step pyramid, was busy only on the first floor (I went all the way up to the fifth floor and it was completely empty up there). The building, while not an architectural wonder, was still kinda cool to check out. It's kinda cool to think that the neon orange lighting and the many ramps that go up and down the garage marked the first "Toronto" experience for hundreds of thousands of visitors over the past 40 years.

The terminal today has a sense of abandonment to it - kinda sad - but I think everyone is excited about the new T1 expansion. Next week, B and I will hopefully be among those that will get a first hand look at the new T1 Pier F!

On a personal note, I have to say that signage for public transit at the new T1 is very very poor. Who knew that you have to go down to the basement level to catch the TTC? Can they not put up a sign somewhere on the arrival floor? is that too much to ask?

Check out these other articles about T2: Terminal 2 Twilight (from Spacing Wire) and Stroll (from Eye Weekly).