Doors Open Toronto 2007

May 28, 2007 - This month actually marks the City of Toronto's third annual month-long Festival of Architecture and Design. While events have been going on all month to celebrate and to promote Toronto's rich architecture, the grand finale of the festival was the annual Doors Open Toronto. Having gone in 2005 (and missing it last year for reasons that I cannot remember), I was pretty excited to check it out this year. So on a warm yet windy Saturday, I dragged Bernard, Jenny and Eric on a long trek around downtown Toronto.

While the list of buildings that I want to see is endless, the two that I really wanted to check out this year were Union Station and the infamous Lower Bay subway station. We ended up visiting both, along with the Empire Sandy sailboat (the largest in the world, and made famous by the Amazing Race), and the Zeidler architect partnership.

So first at Union Station, we went on a 60 minute tour of the Station - which I thought was fascinating, especially since we were allowed to go to areas that are normally closed to the public. Our tour was led by the David Jeanes, the president of Transport 2000. The highlight was walking along the catwalks that lined the perimeter of the Great Hall. The catwalks provided some really cool shots of the station - even though it really didn't look too safe (the floor looked like it could collapse any second). It was also interesting to hear stories about the Station during its heyday, when it was not just a commuter hub, but a place where Torontonians gathered to catch trains to all parts of the continent. Today, parts of the station look really worn out (especially the GO transit section) - would the City's plans to revitalize Union Station help turn it back into the City's crown transportation jewel?

The other highlight of the day was the Lower Bay Subway Station. A few months ago, I blogged about how the Bloor-Danforth trains were being rerouted through Lower Bay towards Museum Station during tunnel maintenance works. Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to see Lower Bay then. But yesterday, after more than 40 years, the platform at Lower Bay was finally opened once again to the public. The line up to go down to Lower Bay was insanely long (it stretched around the block) - but the wait was worth it (and it turned out to be only a 20 minute wait). Used mainly now as a movie set (often to replicate the New York subway system), we were greeted by several NYC MTA signs as we entered the station. A map of the New York subway system was also on display. The platform also has these early 20th century benches that still line the NYC stations today. I think what impressed me most was how organized the TTC folks were (for once). There were TTC officials throughout the platform and the station in general to answer questions. We even got a souvenir booklet that describes the history of the station and a tag to commemorate the event.

Unfortunately we ran out of time then and didn't get a chance to check out the new wing of the Science Centre or the Ontario Architect Association head office. I guess there's always next year.

Speaking of new architecture, next weekend, Bernard and I will be checking out the opening of the ROM Crystals - at midnight!! that should be really cool in itself - I mean, how often do you get to see a museum in the middle of the night?

Oh, big thanks to Jenny and Eric for putting up with us and our silliness for the whole day!