as I walk Toronto

Wilson subway station, on the University side of  Line 1, opened in 1978 and was the end of the line until Downsview station just to the north opened in 1996.  It is not a thing of beauty.  Concrete.   Austere from the outside.  It’s entrance from under the Allen Expressway is dark, gloomy, and depressing.

below: Northwest entrance to the station, nestled up against the Allen Expressway.

below: Walkway to southwest entrance

That stretch of the subway runs down the median of the Allen Expressway.

 

below: Although the platform has a roof, it is open at the ends and in the winter it is cold.  There are a few of these pod-like waiting areas, circular glass structures with benches for those wanting a tiny reprieve from the wind.

below: Inside the station a concrete wall sculpture by Ted Bieler entitled ‘Canyons’

What drew me here in the first place ….  To help brighten up the area, some of the concrete, both inside and out, has been covered with murals by Shalak Attack, Bruno Smoky, and Clandestinos,

below: An owl and a woman’s face at the two south entrances.

below: There is a lot of street art along Wilson Avenue but most of it is under the Allen Expressway and is not well lit. Some of it is also looking very dirty.

below: Pink flowers inside the station

 

below: Circular “Kiss ‘n Ride” still exists.

below: Exit at Wilson Heights

below: Northeast side of the station, along with the Allen Expressway

I took most of these pictures back in the summer but I hadn’t taken the time to blog about what I had seen.  When I drove past Wilson again recently, I noticed that the parking lot on the east side (towards Wilson Heights) is now fenced off.  Now it is a snow covered vacant lot.

below: Parking lot before

below: … and after. You can still park your bikes here, but no more cars.

below: There is a City of Toronto development notice sign on the side of Wilson station.  It looks like the city may be serious about affordable housing at this site.  Apparently this has been in the works for a number of years but faced some opposition form those who wanted to keep the parking lot.   Just shy of 1500 units in six buildings are planned on the site along with community space and a public park.  The percent allotted to affordable housing varies from 35 to 48 percent, depending on the source of the information.

To the west of the station, on the north side of Wilson, is the remains of the Downsview Airport lands.

below: One of the four winners of the ‘XOXO Downsview, Talking Fences’ competition of 2023, is “Aandi wenjibaayan?” which translates to “Where are you from?”  It was suggested by Lakhvir Sandhar.  The other three winners have their words displayed elsewhere on the Downsview property.

The south side of Wilson is retail and is now Wilson Village.   It is also where you will find Billy Bishop Way named for Canadian pilot.  It is nowhere near Billy Bishop Airport (that’s WAAAAY south, on the island, or the other one in Owen Sound) but is a nod to Downsview’s history as an airfield and its role in airplane manufacturing.

William Avery Bishop was born in Owen Sound in 1894.  He was a Canadian flying ace during WW1.

below: Looking southeast past the old metal fence that surrounds the parking on the northwest side of Wilson station.  Big box retail on the other side of Wilson, and newer midrise to highrise residential development on the other side of the Allen.

Very close to the planned “affordable housing” but on the south side of Wilson, there is already a new community being built.

There are many older single family homes to the east, in a quiet neighbourhood squeezed in between Wilson and the 401.

I even discovered an old moose hiding in the bushes!  The “Moose in the City” project goes way back to 2000 when 326 life-sized moose sculptures found homes around the city.  Each one was decorated by a local artist.   I am not sure how many still exist but it can’t be more than a fraction of the original.

To the east, Wilson is becoming a canyon of midrise buildings, replacing the older residences, often fourplexes and sixplexes.

The development is more intensive as you get closer to the Allen and the subway line…

… on both the north and south side of Wilson