Transportation history and railway heritage site.

Details of Site Location: The north side of the Esplanade between York Street and the now vanished Bishop Street.

Boundary History: The site occupied approximately a quarter of an acre at the side of the railway line.

Current Use of Property: Today, the site is covered by the expanded Esplanade and other railway tracks.

Historical Description: The first railways stations in Toronto were not Union Stations. The station at this location was the first to serve several railways and thus qualify as a Union Station, as it was known in its own time. Built in 1858 by the Great Western Railway, which had its main terminal at the western outskirts of the city, it gave GWR a downtown location. The GWR operated a line to Hamilton and southwestern Ontario, but did not extend eastwards. Although the public used the station in the west, there were complaints about the difficulties in reaching it and demands for a downtown location. When complaints reached their peak, the city gave a free piece of land at the foot of Yonge at Front Street and a large, beautiful station was built there where it would be useful to other railways. For its time, it was small and tidy, a single storey of frame construction; it had a regular waiting room, a ladies’ room, and a barbershop. Its wooden platform faced the tracks on the south side. The Northern Railway and Grand Trunk Railway continued to use it until 1871 without altering it in any way. From 1871 until 1873 it was replaced by a temporary station west of Simcoe  Street and south of Front Street, to allow its former position to be cleared for building Union Station II.

Relative Importance: It is important because it was the very first Union Station and because it was built by a pioneer railway,

Planning Implications: The site has no archaeological potential, although public works in this area should be carried out with careful monitoring. The site should be marked with information about the station and the pioneer railways that used it.

Reference Source: William Hood, private collection.

Note: Major repositories in Toronto do not have information about this station. A picture of the station is known to exist but has not been located.

Acknowledgement: Eastern Canada Transit Club.