Museum station (Toronto)
Museum Centre platform | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Underground | ||||||||||
| Accessible | No | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Website | Official station page | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | February 28, 1963 | ||||||||||
| Rebuilt | April 2008, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2023–2024[1] | 9,604 | ||||||||||
| Rank | 56 of 70 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Museum is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1963 and is located under Queen's Park at Charles Street West, beside the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) after which it is named.
Structure
The station structure was created in the middle of the road using
When plans for the adjacent and now closed McLaughlin Planetarium were drawn up in the mid-1960s, a tunnel that would lead directly to the Planetarium was contemplated, but this plan was scrapped as being too expensive.[4]
Connection to Line 2 Bloor–Danforth
The decision by Metro Council in 1960 to build a wye from the University line to the eastbound Bloor line between Museum and Bay stations was a controversial one. TTC Chairman Clarence Downey opposed the construction, estimated to cost about $10 million, saying that $10 million would build an extra mile of subway on the Bloor–Danforth line. The construction was estimated to cost $3 million for the basic interchange, and $7 million for the “intricate trackage system”.[5]
From February to September 1966, all three sides of the wye were used in regular service: from each of three terminals—Eglinton, Keele, and Woodbine—trains ran alternately to the other two (between Eglinton and Museum via Union). Thereafter, Line 2 Bloor–Danforth became a separate route, Lower Bay was closed, and upper St. George became a terminus for the Yonge–University line until it was extended to Wilson in 1978. The tunnel to Lower Bay is visible from northbound trains shortly after they leave Museum Station.
Station access upgrades
In August 2022, construction started on a second entrance via an exterior staircase at the south end of Museum station; it was opened in May 2024. The staircase is located at the north end of Queens Park Circle on the south side of the War Memorial monument. It leads down to platform-level turnstiles, located at the site of a former storage space.[a] For station accessibility, there will also be an entrance via elevator to a new concourse level providing access to a second elevator to the platform level; these changes were expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2026.[7][8][3]
Architecture and art
The station opened with the same tile scheme which would become standard on
In April 2008, a major renovation by
Nearby landmarks
In addition to its proximity to the
Surface connections
A transfer is required to connect between the subway system and these surface routes:
TTC routes serving the station include:
| Route | Name | Additional information |
|---|---|---|
| 13A | Avenue Road | Northbound to Eglinton station |
| 13B | Avenue Road | Northbound to Eglinton station and southbound to Gerrard Street West |
| 94A | Wellesley | Eastbound to Castle Frank station via Wellesley station and westbound to Ossington station. Board buses at Queen's Park Crescent West. |
Notes
- ^ Following a police audit in 1982 in response to the murder of Mariam Peters at St. Patrick station in 1975, the south end of the station had metal "prison" bars installed to allow for ventilation and storage.[6] The storage area has been replaced by platform-level turnsiles for the Queens Park entrance.[3]
References
- ^ "Subway ridership, 2023–2024" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
This table shows the typical number of customer-boardings made on each subway line and the number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on a typical weekday in Sep 2023–Aug 2024.
- ^ "Museum Station". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
- ^ a b c "The Most Picturesque Station Entrance in Toronto?". RMTransit. June 11, 2024. p. 10:00.
- ^ Clarke, Thomas, "Stars in the Ceiling", Rotunda, Summer 1982, Volume 15, Number 2, p. 17.
- ^ Baker, Alden (September 6, 1963). "$1,000,000 Subway Link May Never be Used". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions about Toronto's Subway and the Scarborough RT". Transit Toronto. April 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "TTC to begin Easier Access construction at Museum Station; lane restrictions on Queen's Park". Toronto Transit Commission. August 11, 2022. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022.
- ^ "Museum Station". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on December 30, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ "Revitalized Museum Subway Station unveiled". World Architecture News. April 11, 2008. Archived from the original on August 7, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ^ "TTC Museum Station Renovation". Ontario Panelization. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
External links
Media related to Museum station (Toronto) at Wikimedia Commons
