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Re-discovering North Toronto Station
Ken Smith - Correspondent
NEW USE: Station is now the grandest liquor store in
Toronto.
Toronto - Ask Torontonians where the old
CPR North Toronto Station is and they're likely to draw a blank. But ask them for the Summerhill liquor store and they'll probably know right away.
That's not surprising, since the station closed in 1929, and the structure was converted to a provincially owned liquor store in 1940.
But now the distinctive station, which features a clock tower and a cavernous Great Hall, is undergoing a thorough restoration, as part of a larger mixed-use
redevelopment of the immediate neighborhood. Rest assured, however, the liquor store will remain.
At a ceremonial groundbreaking in July 2001, Andrew Brandt, chairman and CEO of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, announced LCBO's intent to lease and
occupy the entire restored and expanded space.
Totally Restored
And what a space it is, although its grandeur has been disguised for more than 60 years.
"The station will be totally restored, both inside and out," Mitchell Cohen, vice-president of Equifund Corporation, the developer, said.
"Included in our plans is the opening of the cathedral ceilings in the Great Hall, re-use of the original brass ticket wickets, and finally, a new clock
in the tower."
Plans call for a new urban square to the south of the station building, and a new public street named in honour of the late Margaret Scrivener, a longtime
Ontario cabinet minister.
The developer plans to make the square a truly special midtown attraction. It will be a fully-landscaped venue for a projected "large public art program
that includes fountains, water tables, and pools. It will be spectacular when completed," Cohen said.
The overall development also includes single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums, and new retail stores. Two new condominium buildings are being built
immediately east of the station and square. The new retail development will flank the south side of the square.
GO Transit's long-term plans call for possible introduction of commuter rail service on the North Toronto subdivision. And, ironically, there is a Toronto
Transit Commission subway station directly beneath the old railway station.
The former North Toronto CPR station was designed by the Toronto architectural firm, Darling & Pearson, in 1914-15. It was built by CPR's own engineers,
concurrent with a massive CPR grade-separation project across North Toronto.
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