North York Centre (TTC)

North York Centre TTC Subway Station
Station statistics
Address	5152 Yonge Street
Coordinates	43°46′06″N 79°24′46″W / 43.76833°N 79.41278°W / 43.76833; -79.41278Coordinates: 43°46′06″N 79°24′46″W / 43.76833°N 79.41278°W / 43.76833; -79.41278
Lines	Yonge–University–Spadina
Structure	underground
Platforms	side
Other information
Opened	18 June 1987
Accessible
Presto card	No
Traffic
Passengers (2009-10)	25,480
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station Sheppard-Yonge toward Downsview Yonge–University–Spadina Finch Terminus

North York Centre is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto subway and RT. It is located at 5152 Yonge Street, where Yonge is intersected by Park Home Avenue and Empress Avenue. This is within North York Centre, a high density area of the Willowdale neighbourhood. This community formerly consisted of single family homes and small businesses, and the coming of the subway has served as a stimulus for high-rise residential and commercial development.

History

North York Centre opened in 1987 in what was then the City of North York as a single station addition to the Yonge-University-Spadina line.

This station was added by excavating alongside the existing tracks, on a level section of route provided for this purpose when the line was built. The view across the tracks between platforms is not as open as most stations, as the solid concrete wall had to retain its load-bearing strength, and smaller openings were cut.^[1]

Public art

Artwork in the station consists of North York Heritage Murals by North York artists Nicholas and Susana Graven, located at the platform level. The two murals, each made of over 5000 pieces of glazed ceramic tiles using a process invented by Artessa Studios of North York, depict scenes of North York in the 19th century in an abstract way and are titled:

• Top of the North Hill—1850’s on the northbound platform (surtitled with the historic place names “Don Mills, Flynntown, L'Amoreaux, Lansing, Milneford, Newtonbrook, Oriole, O’Sullivan’s Corners, Willowdale”), and
• Traffic at Yonge and Sheppard—1860’s on the southbound platform (surtitled with the historic place names “Downsview, Dublin, Eglinton, Elia, Emery, Fairbank, Fisherville, Humber Summit, Kaiserville, York Mills, Weston”).

The historic place names shown above each of the murals are names of historic communities near an imaginary line from the northwest to the southeast through the historic Lansing.

• 

  Top of the North Hill—1850’s

• 

  Traffic at Yonge and Sheppard—1860’s

Accessibility improvements

In late 2007 the TTC began work to make the station accessible to those with limited mobility, and in November 2009 the work was completed. Two elevators were installed to take passengers from mezzanine level to the subway platforms. Persons in wheelchairs or with other mobility restrictions are now able to enter the station from street level via the Empress Walk building's elevators and then proceed to the station to make use of the new TTC elevators.^[2]

Nearby landmarks

Yonge Street in 2005, looking north toward Empress Avenue intersection

Nearby landmarks include Mel Lastman Square and the North York Civic Centre, the North York Central Library, Empress Walk, Earl Haig Secondary School, Gibson House, the Toronto Centre for the Arts, and York Cemetery.

Surface connections

Main article: List of bus routes in Toronto

• 97 Yonge - Transfer required
• GO Transit Newmarket B

Gallery

• 

  The mezzanine

• 

  Looking across the tracks

References

1. ^ http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5108.shtml
2. ^ http://www3.ttc.ca/Service_Advisories/Elevators_and_escalators/North_york.jsp

External links

• North York Centre Station at the Toronto Transit Commission
• [1] Transit Toronto—North York Centre Station has a detailed history and photos of the station