Narelle recognised it from when she lived in Mornington. House was often used as a landmark.
Castle Frank and Dufferin station are both in the TTC Standard style that was developed in 1954 by John B Parkin & Associates. It was was used in the original Yonge/University lines and the 1968 Bloor-Danforth line.
Castle Frank being a swankier neighborhood has a nicer ticket hall and bus bays along with a brutalist covered bridge to reduce noise in the leafy neighborhood.
In the early 90s the Standard stations were denounced as looking like public toilets without the plumbing fixtures. Art installations began and continue to be installed.
Dufferin got its multi-couloured tiles in the 90s (sometime?)
That concrete ceiling shows up in a few stations. The glass walls and heavy use of skylights were typical too, the 50s design wanted the stations to light up as “beacons” for commuters at night
What a fabulous thread. Underground architecture for the win. Only on this wonderful site.
Just by coincidence, this Friday I’m finally getting on those pictures of the Spadina Line stations I mentioned earlier in the thread. I’ve been thinking about it and it’s probably going to take 2-3 trips to do the stations properly. Interior and exterior shots and waiting for crowds to clear
Look forward to that.
Jungfernheide station in Berlin, just banged off as I was walking past.
And for anyone interested in this kind of thing who is visiting That London, the Paolozzi installation at TCR is well worth a mooch.
https://art.tfl.gov.uk/projects/paolozzi-restoration-at-tottenham-court-road-station/
In the 1970’s the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC hereafter) was still butthurt over the spectacular Montréal Metro overshadowing the staid architecture of its 1968 Bloor-Danforth Line. When the Spadina Line was announced in 1974 each station would be a bit of unique modern architecture.
Bit of an apology to start. Most of the stations are torn up with construction /maintenance so photos were hard to get (especially exteriors).
First off the most quirky entrance on the entire system . . .
The 1899 home of lawyer Norman B. Gash was acquired by the city in the 50s to make way for the (thankfully) ill fated Spadina Expressway. It sat vacant until being repurposed in the 70s. The house had to be lifted from its foundation and moved, the underground portion constructed, then returned to position and gutted. The rear wall was replaced with skylights.
The interior . . .
Leads down to a funky 70s platform, the tiling is unique to this station . . .
Station design was by Adamson Associates, the artwork is a porcelain enamel mural entitled Morning Glory by Louis de Niverville
More to come . . .
Next stop also happens to be my personal favourite. Dupont Station was designed by the firm of Dunlop Farrow Aitken and perfectly incorporates the series of glass mosaic murals of psychedelicized plants by James Sutherland collectively titled Spadina Summer Under All Seasons.
I love the shimmering round tiles, the curved surfaces, and the porthole lighting . . .
And the little “artisan” details; the original signage is engraved into the tiling, the avocado coloured tile seen to the right in the above photo is only used on a couple of walls and only in this station.
The mosaics . . .
The platform level ones are on a massive scale . .
Commuters are gradually reintroduced to street level through plexiglass “green houses” which also reinforce the plantlife theme . . .
There was restoration work going on the opposite corner entrance, so the faded panels should be replaced soon . . .
The elevator (to the right) for limited mobility access would have been added in the last 10-15 years
As my mother would say, there’s a name to go to bed with.
Brilliant.
The Oklahoma State Capitol Bank, designed by Robert Roloff of Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson & Roloff in 1962.
Marvellous!
The Jetsons wouldn’t bank anywhere else
Reading up about the above bank, I found this interesting fact.
MidFirst Bank is an American bank based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As of 2023, it was the largest privately owned bank in the United States, with $39.0 billion in assets.
So Michael Gove prohibited (I think) this demolition.
Angela Rayner has now approved it.
I can’t say that it’s a particularly distinguished building but the encapsulated carbon doesn’t bear thinking about.
Billionaire ego project. Funded the restoration in a big French richer than you dick off in a few days yet said billionaires have consistently objected to paying more tax.
I appreciate the craftsmanship that has gone into it but the money behind it is disgusting.
Torn by this.
If the rich hadn’t paid for it the work would have carried on for another 10 years or so on a shoestring budget and not in a cohesive way, or the same standard, and would have been paid for out of the public purse.
If Notre Dame is ‘priceless heritage’ then the fact that it has been done is amazing.
Arguing about how the money could have been better spent is irrelevant as there was never a choice, the only reason the money was there was because of the fire.
The very rich trying to buy a place in heaven is not exactly a new idea!
Precisely. The money simply would have remained within the bank accounts of those billionaire few.
It’s a win=win.
For the left of centre, consider it a tax on the wealthy.