To Union Station”
If you are a tourist to Toronto, this is the route to ride. This streetcar will take you from Spadina and Bloor in the north, south to the waterfront, past the CN Tower and the Skydome,1 by the Ferry Docks if you want to transfer,2 and finishes at Union, whence you can transfer to the subway, GO, or head on up to Front Street or the PATH to continue on your journey. It is an excellent way to sample Toronto.3
📸 Some Photos
Click ℹ️ (or swipe up ↑ on iOS) for more details, thoughts, and notes.
Starting in the north end at Spadina, I have not ridden through the tunnel, although I have walked through it for safety training and streetcars feel much taller when they aren’t on the street. Regardless, the Spadina streetcar station is not at all like the Spadina Subway: it’s a lovely cream and green Grecian–style station4 with well-lit high ceilings that smoothly curve into the wall with steel panels. Really nice and elegant… and not at all like any of the other architectural styles in the station (*sigh*).
Moving south, from Harbord St, we pass by U of T, with its modern buildings fronting on to Spadina and its older buildings set back and shunning what would’ve become an expressway.
We quickly fling around Spadina Circle, which is literally a circle (and terrible for anything other than roundabouts, by the way), and end up in Chinatown, next to the Kensington Market.
These neighbourhoods are critical parts of the culture of Toronto and definitely a place to check out.5 This area contains many independent or small shops selling all manner of items: groceries, music, art, candy, hot & cold drinks, and more!6 The beauty of the streetcar is that you can hop off, take a walk and stop at the stores you think are interesting, and then join the route later.7 There are also excellent restaurants in this area.
Moving south, we have one more neighbourhood to travel through before we get to the waterfront. South of Queen (and the famed Graffiti Alley) is what is known as the “Fashion District”. I believe it was originally home to several garment factories which gave it its name, but today is home to higher-end shops and businesses typically specializing in… fashion. Of course, fashion isn’t just clothes. I have also seen lighting, real-estate, and furniture stores in here. Again, the beauty of the streetcar: feel free to hop off and take a look.
Then there’s a slightly more residential area, a park, and we’re over the tracks!
South of the tracks, get off at Bremner/Fort York for views of the CN Tower over the rail corridor, or the Rogers Centre (née SkyDome).
Finally, the streetcar joins the 509 Harbourfront from Exhibition and makes its way along Queens Quay.8 Here, if you had gotten on the wrong streetcar, you’d turn around and head back up Spadina. But, because we’re going to Union Station, we head along Queens Quay, getting wonderful views of Toronto’s waterfront and the CN Tower and SkyDome (partially blocked by the Gardiner, sadly9). This is the view that many tourists associate with Toronto, although they usually don’t see it from this angle.
Finally, the streetcar heads past the latest in condo and office-tower design and dives underground for the Ferry Docks’ and Union Station’s stops. There’s not much to see here (being a tunnel and all that), but I do like the pleasing tiling pattern on the station walls with their gradients and relaxing colours. Queens Quay (Ferry Docks) is subtly10 nautical themed with blue tiles, and Union is green.
Fun Fact: The tunnels here were dug below lake level, so the walls were created by spraying the dug out tunnel with concrete until it solidified, creating the “rough hewn” look.
I think 510 Spadina is the sampler of the streetcar routes. It passes by the most quintessential of Torontoisms: U of T, Chinatown, Kensington Market, the Harbourfront, SkyDome (*ahem* Rogers Centre), and the CN Tower. And it’s a streetcar! A very Toronto thing.
The route is not long (about 40min), so it won’t take much time to ride, and each end is at an important transit hub so don’t worry about riding all the way and getting stuck. As a summary of Toronto, Spadina is the one to check out!
or Rogers Centre or whatever they’re calling it these days ↩
Don’t worry: “Queen’s Quay (Ferry Docks)” is announced so you can’t miss the stop. ↩
Another excellent way, I’d say, is to wander up/down University, York, Bay, or Yonge Sts. (♿ Flat municipal sidewalks, although Yonge can be busy. University is the widest.) ↩
OK, platform ↩
The Kensington Market is announced, so don’t worry about missing it. If you overshoot and end up at Queen, just walk back north a block and the “market” is to the west, on the left. (♿🔇TTC announcements are also shown on the dot-matrix displays on the ceiling.) ↩
It is important to clarify that the Kensington Market its not actually a market like the St. Lawrence Market. Rather, it is a neighbourhood where people sell a lot of stuff. ↩
All TTC streetcar routes offer frequent “Ten-Minute Network” service and Presto lets you get on as many times as you want within two hours of initially tapping on/in to the TTC. ↩
Pronounced Queen’s Key, so you can impress your friends. ↩
I mean, unless you like rehabilitated 1950’s “superhighway” design. ↩
Nothing as gaudy as Museum. ↩