Toronto Union Station
I along with
200,000 other commuters use this station on the day I was especially observant
due to my ANT450 project that I decided to include this train station location
a part of. The Toronto Union Station is considered the country’s busiest
transportation hub serving over 200,000 people every day. The station was open
in 1927 after much delay and financial difficulties experienced by previous
managing bodies. I knew the station was busy because I have experienced it
firsthand on many occasions, I however did not know exactly to what capacity
the number of passengers use the facility. The building from the outside is
reflective of the massive structures built during the era of the 1st
world war during which time it was built and completed shortly after. The
building itself was designated a National Historic Site Of Canada from 1975,
and a Heritage Railway Station from 1989.
The station is
location in the heart of Canada’s inter-city rail service area known as “The
Corridor” which is a region that stretches from the City of Windsor in the west
to Quebec City in the east. It is reported that more than half of the
passengers that travel the inter-city of Canada is by way of Union Station.
Other than that main location within the inter-city the station is perfectly
located to feed the central business district of Canada’s financial hub
(Toronto) with workers on daily commute from the surrounding suburbs.
The Union
Station is home to Via Rail, Amtrak, and Go transit that provides train
services out of this location and the local city transit (TTC) also connects
from here. What makes the station interesting to look at from the aspects of
this ANT450 city Vs. nature project is the fact that the station plays a
integral functional role in the everyday operations of the city. It is a hub
alive with activity on a daily basis and is used by many people from all walks
of life. Commuters have access to the same facilities as everyone else. The
station houses a bevy of shops and fast food joints to accommodate the
commuters who use it daily. There are convenient stores although the prices
there are a bit steeper than other locations you can find what you are looking
for there from magazines to personal hygiene items to selected fruits and
drinks and snack items. The typical fast food of MacDonald’s can be found along
with Cinnabon, Sushi Shop, Booster Juice and coffee houses such as Tim Horton’s
and Second Cup to name a few of the stores and shops that provide quick fix to
the hungry masses on their way in or out of the city.
The place provides seating in little nooks and strategic areas to allow
you to wait for your train while seated though there is never enough seating I
don’t believe there can ever be with the massive amount of people that uses the
station. The station is the perfect place to people watch while waiting to
leave for your destination. There is no nature in this station except for the
produce that is brought in by vendors to be sold such as fruits and food and
they have been prepared for resale, loosing their natural state in the process. It is a structure that is completely urban in
a city environment; there is nothing natural about it. This is probably my
favorite location of all the sites visited for this project, as I believe the
readings by Cronon and Boudreau, Keil and Young can be applied and is reflective
in the space functionality that is the Toronto Union Station
No comments:
Post a Comment