.gif)
Museum (TTC)
Encyclopedia
Museum is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system
in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. It is located at 75 Queen's Park at Charles Street West. It opened in 1963 and is named for the nearby Royal Ontario Museum
.
to run under Queen’s Park, passing east of the Ontario Legislative Building to reach Queen's Park station
. The concourse is located under the roadway, one level above the north end of a centre platform, with entrances from either side of the road. There are two stairways on the west side adjacent to the southern end of the Royal Ontario Museum and two on the east, just south of Charles Street. Pedestrians are encouraged to use the station as a pedestrian underpass to cross Queen's Park, a wide and busy thoroughfare without a centre median. This station does not have an elevator and is not wheelchair accessible.
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.
The station is rated as high priority in the requirement for a second exit, and although plans were made to include additional exits at the south end of the platform at Queen's Park Crescent , nothing has yet been done.
and St. George
stations each have four parallel tracks, two above two. Between these stations and Museum is a full double-track, grade-separated wye junction
. The tracks to/from Museum connect to the upper St. George and Lower Bay
stations, while the tracks along Bloor use lower St. George and upper Bay.
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”.
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 the Bloor–Danforth line 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
. The tunnel to Lower Bay is visible from northbound trains shortly after they leave Museum Station.
Designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects
and constructed by Jeviso Construction Corporation, renovations to the station's platform level were completed in April 2008 to evoke exhibits in the Royal Ontario Museum. Supporting columns have been remade to resemble the ancient Egyptian deity
Osiris
, as well as Toltec warriors
, Doric columns
found in the Parthenon
, China's Forbidden City
columns, and First Nations
house posts. This renovation purged Museum Station's original tile scheme from the platform level. Walls were reclad with mauve aluminum plate panels by Ontario Panelization of London, Ontario. They incorporated painted 1/4" fire-rated Lexan
into the panels composing the large "MUSEUM" lettering on the walls with a historical hieroglyphic inscription from the ROM.
, other landmarks nearby include the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art
, the The Royal Conservatory of Music, the defunct McLaughlin Planetarium
, and the northeast corner of the University of Toronto
(which includes Victoria University
, St. Michael's College
, the Faculty of Law
, and the Faculty of Music).
Toronto subway and RT
The Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is located at 75 Queen's Park at Charles Street West. It opened in 1963 and is named for the nearby Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
.
Structure
The station structure was created in the middle of the road using cut and cover, while immediately south of the station the line goes into a bored tunnelTunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They can bore through anything from hard rock to sand. Tunnel diameters can range from a metre to almost 16 metres to date...
to run under Queen’s Park, passing east of the Ontario Legislative Building to reach Queen's Park station
Queen's Park (TTC)
Queen's Park is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located at 671 University Avenue at College Street, the station opened in 1963....
. The concourse is located under the roadway, one level above the north end of a centre platform, with entrances from either side of the road. There are two stairways on the west side adjacent to the southern end of the Royal Ontario Museum and two on the east, just south of Charles Street. Pedestrians are encouraged to use the station as a pedestrian underpass to cross Queen's Park, a wide and busy thoroughfare without a centre median. This station does not have an elevator and is not wheelchair accessible.
When plans for the adjacent and now closed McLaughlin Planetarium
McLaughlin Planetarium
The McLaughlin Planetarium is a former working planetarium whose building occupies a space immediately to the south of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, at 100 Queen's Park. Founded by a grant from philanthropist Colonel R. Samuel McLaughlin, the facility was opened to the public on October 26,...
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.
The station is rated as high priority in the requirement for a second exit, and although plans were made to include additional exits at the south end of the platform at Queen's Park Crescent , nothing has yet been done.
Connection to Bloor-Danforth line
BayBay (TTC)
Bay is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is located at 64 Bloor Street West at Bay Street.One major amenity of this station is the Toronto Transit Commission's Lost articles office, where objects lost on TTC property are kept.-History:Bay Station was...
and St. George
St. George (TTC)
St. George is a station on the Yonge-University-Spadina and Bloor-Danforth lines of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 323 Bloor Street West at St. George Street. This is the second busiest station, after Bloor-Yonge Station, serving a combined total of approximately ...
stations each have four parallel tracks, two above two. Between these stations and Museum is a full double-track, grade-separated wye junction
Wye (railroad)
A wye or triangular junction, in rail terminology, is a triangular shaped arrangement of rail tracks with a switch or set of points at each corner. In mainline railroads, this can be used at a rail junction, where three rail lines join, in order to allow trains to pass from any line to any other...
. The tracks to/from Museum connect to the upper St. George and Lower Bay
Bay (TTC)
Bay is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is located at 64 Bloor Street West at Bay Street.One major amenity of this station is the Toronto Transit Commission's Lost articles office, where objects lost on TTC property are kept.-History:Bay Station was...
stations, while the tracks along Bloor use lower St. George and upper Bay.
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”.
From February to September 1966 all three sides of the wye were used in regular service: from each of three terminals — Eglinton
Eglinton (TTC)
Eglinton is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is at 2190 Yonge Street at Eglinton Avenue. It is one of the larger stations of the Toronto Transit Commission , with several shops located on the concourse level...
, Keele
Keele (TTC)
Keele is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is located at 1733 Bloor Street West at Keele Street/Parkside Drive...
, and Woodbine
Woodbine (TTC)
Woodbine is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. The address of the station is 2072 Danforth Avenue and it is physically located at the intersection of Woodbine Avenue and Strathmore Boulevard....
— trains ran alternately to the other two (between Eglinton and Museum via Union
Union (TTC)
Union Station is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto subway and RT. Opened in 1954 along with the first twelve subway stations of Toronto, it is located between the Yonge Street and University Avenue sections of the line at 55 Front Street West between Bay Street and York...
). Thereafter the Bloor–Danforth line 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
Wilson (TTC)
Wilson is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the median of Allen Road at 570 Wilson Avenue.2257 parking spaces surround the station in four commuter lots.-History:...
. The tunnel to Lower Bay is visible from northbound trains shortly after they leave Museum Station.
Architecture and art
The station opened with the same tile scheme which would become standard on the Bloor-Danforth line, whose first phase was completed three years later in 1966. Smooth, unadorned cream-coloured rectangular tiles were predominant, with a strip of narrower blue tiles near the ceiling. The unique TTC font was used for the station name, sandblasted to the wall and painted in the same shade of blue as the narrower strip of tiles.Designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects
Diamond and Schmitt Architects
Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated is an architectural practice founded in 1975 and located in Toronto, Ontario Canada. The firm currently employs 137 people.-History:...
and constructed by Jeviso Construction Corporation, renovations to the station's platform level were completed in April 2008 to evoke exhibits in the Royal Ontario Museum. Supporting columns have been remade to resemble the ancient Egyptian deity
Egyptian pantheon
The Egyptian pantheon consisted of the many gods worshipped by the Ancient Egyptians. A number of major deities are addressed as the creator of the cosmos. These include Atum, Ra, Amun and Ptah amongst others, as well as composite forms of these gods such as Amun-Ra. This was not seen as...
Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
, as well as Toltec warriors
Tula, Hidalgo
Tula, formally, Tula de Allende, is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 305.8 km² , and as of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 93,296, with 28,432 in the town...
, Doric columns
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
found in the Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
, China's Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
columns, and First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
house posts. This renovation purged Museum Station's original tile scheme from the platform level. Walls were reclad with mauve aluminum plate panels by Ontario Panelization of London, Ontario. They incorporated painted 1/4" fire-rated Lexan
Lexan
Lexan is a registered trademark for SABIC Innovative Plastics' brand of polycarbonate resin thermoplastic. Polycarbonate polymer is produced by reacting bisphenol A with carbonyl dichloride, also known as phosgene. Lexan is the brand name for polycarbonate sheet and resin in a wide range of grades...
into the panels composing the large "MUSEUM" lettering on the walls with a historical hieroglyphic inscription from the ROM.
Nearby landmarks
In addition to its proximity to the Royal Ontario MuseumRoyal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
, other landmarks nearby include the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art
Gardiner Museum
The Gardiner Museum is the only museum in Canada devoted exclusively to ceramic art. It is located on Queen’s Park just south of Bloor Street in Toronto, opposite the Royal Ontario Museum. The nearest subway station is Museum.-History:...
, the The Royal Conservatory of Music, the defunct McLaughlin Planetarium
McLaughlin Planetarium
The McLaughlin Planetarium is a former working planetarium whose building occupies a space immediately to the south of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, at 100 Queen's Park. Founded by a grant from philanthropist Colonel R. Samuel McLaughlin, the facility was opened to the public on October 26,...
, and the northeast corner of the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(which includes Victoria University
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
Victoria University is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1836 and named for Queen Victoria. It is commonly called Victoria College, informally Vic, after the original academic component that now forms its undergraduate division...
, St. Michael's College
University of St. Michael's College
The University of St. Michael's College is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil of Annonay, France. While mainly an undergraduate college for liberal arts and sciences, St. Michael's retains its Roman Catholic affiliation through its postgraduate...
, the Faculty of Law
University of Toronto Faculty of Law
Established in 1887, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law is one of the oldest professional faculties at the University of Toronto. The Faculty of Law is particularly renowned in the areas of corporate law, international law, law and economics, and legal theory.The law school has been...
, and the Faculty of Music).
Surface connections
A paper transfer is required to transfer between surface bus routes and the subway at this station.- 5 Avenue Road
- 142 Downtown/Avenue Road Express - rush hour only, extra fare required