2 Comments March 31, 2014 at 12:51 pm

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Happy 60th Birthday, Yonge Line!

A look back at the politics and personalities on hand at the birth of Toronto's first subway line.

By Jamie Bradburn

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311349 Advertisement, the Telegram, March 29, 1954. The Yonge line was approved by voters in 1946, and construction began on September 8, 1949. Stretching for 4.6 miles (nearly 7.5 km), the $59-million project included 10 stops between Eglinton Avenue and Union station. 20140331openingad https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331openingad-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331openingad.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331openingad.jpg 1000 1314 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331openingad/ 20140331openingad 0 0

311350 Advertisement featuring route changes spawned by the opening of the Yonge subway, the Globe and Mail, March 29, 1954. At a dinner held at the University Women’s Club shortly before the subway opened, TTC public relations executive Paul Baker observed that the new line wouldn’t please everyone. “The TTC recognizes the hardships imposed on a small group by the elimination of surface transportation on Yonge Street from Davisville to Crescent Road. The Commission must, however, consider the 99 per cent of its customers who will benefit.” 20140331servicechangemap https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331servicechangemap-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331servicechangemap.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331servicechangemap.jpg 1000 1459 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331servicechangemap/ 20140331servicechangemap 0 0

311351 TTC Chairman W.C. McBrien, TTC General Manager W.E.P. Duncan, Toronto Mayor Allan Lamport, Ontario Premier Leslie Frost, and Metropolitan Toronto Chairman Frederick Gardiner at Davisville station, March 30, 1954. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1128, Series 381, File 298, Item 11847-31. The opening ceremony began at 10:45 a.m. on March 30, 1954, or “S-Day” as some papers dubbed it. VIPs were bussed in shortly before the speeches began—and the speeches were delivered from a platform set up next to the station at Yonge Street and Chaplin Crescent. 20140331dignitaries https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331dignitaries-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331dignitaries.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331dignitaries.jpg 950 758 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331dignitaries/ 20140331dignitaries 0 0

311352 Crowd attending the opening ceremony for the Yonge subway line, March 30, 1954. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1128, Series 381, File 298, Item 11847-22. Around 5,000 people showed up to watch the official launch. While waiting for the speeches to start, they were entertained by the band of the Royal Regiment. 20140331davisvillecrowd https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331davisvillecrowd-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331davisvillecrowd.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331davisvillecrowd.jpg 950 755 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331davisvillecrowd/ 20140331davisvillecrowd 0 0

311353 TTC Chairman W.C. McBrien addresses the crowd at the opening ceremony for the Yonge subway line, March 30, 1954. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1128, Series 381, File 298, Item 11847-34. In his opening remarks, W.C. McBrien warned that the city would require more subways, and that the TTC couldn’t fund them alone. He made five suggestions on how to fight congestion: eliminate parking on major downtown routes; eliminate parking meters (which “belong to the horse and buggy days and have no place in a large modern city”); build parking lots in outlying areas serviced by buses to bring commuters to the subway or into downtown; urge businesses in the core to stagger their hours for employees; and start work on a Queen Street subway (by constructing a streetcar tunnel running from Sherbourne Street to either McCaul Street or Spadina Avenue) immediately so that 80 per cent of the existing downtown streetcar lines could be eliminated. 20140331mcbrien https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331mcbrien-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331mcbrien.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331mcbrien.jpg 750 939 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331mcbrien/ 20140331mcbrien 0 0

311354 Ontario Premier Leslie Frost and Toronto Mayor Allan Lamport throw the switch to launch the Yonge subway line, March 30, 1954. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1128, Series 381, File 298, Item 11847-45. Following speeches by Frederick Gardiner and Allan Lamport, and a religious dedication, Premier Frost took the stage. “And now Mr. Mayor,” said Frost, “I am going to vary the program, by asking you to place your hand with mine on the control handle and, as we press it forward, give Canada’s first subway the green light.” 20140331switchthrown https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331switchthrown-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331switchthrown.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331switchthrown.jpg 750 935 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331switchthrown/ 20140331switchthrown 0 0

311355 Ontario Premier Leslie Frost unveils a ceremonial plaque at Union Station, March 30, 1954. Toronto Mayor Allan Lamport stands at right. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1128, Series 381, File 298, Item 11847-14. At 11:50 a.m., 600 dignitaries boarded an eight-car train to head north to Eglinton. There, the train switched tracks and began its southbound run to Union, arriving around 12:10 p.m. to a greeting from the inevitable pipe band. During a brief ceremony, Premier Frost unveiled a plaque to commemorate the line’s launch. 20140331unionstationlaque https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331unionstationlaque-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331unionstationlaque.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331unionstationlaque.jpg 950 758 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331unionstationlaque/ 20140331unionstationlaque 0 0

311357 Two TTC guides standing next to a scale-model cake of a subway train. Royal York Hotel, March 30, 1954. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1128, Series 381, File 298, Item 11847-5. An official luncheon was held at the Royal York Hotel. Among the delicacies was a scale-model cake bakers spent a month working on. According to the Globe and Mail, the cake contained over 25 pounds of confectionery sugar, and was covered with “a special icing finished with an edible lacquer.” 20140331cakeguides https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331cakeguides-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331cakeguides.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331cakeguides.jpg 950 750 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331cakeguides/ 20140331cakeguides 0 0

311359 Front page, the Telegram, March 30, 1954. Naturally, the opening of the subway dominated the day’s newspaper headlines. The afternoon papers (the Star and the Telegram) had the advantage of being able print photos from the opening ceremony. That morning’s Globe and Mail went with an American hydrogen bomb test in the middle of the Pacific Ocean as its headline, though a front-page story about the subway proclaimed “TTC Nervous as Expectant Father.” 20140331telyfrontpage https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331telyfrontpage-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331telyfrontpage.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331telyfrontpage.jpg 1000 1349 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331telyfrontpage/ 20140331telyfrontpage 0 0

311361 Pictures of the endpoints of the Yonge line: Union Station entrance, and an overhead view of Eglinton Station. The Telegram, March 30, 1954. When it opened, the subway used the regular TTC fare structure: 10 cents per ride, or three for 25 cents. Tokens were introduced to ease entry into stations. Trains ran 19 and a half hours on weekdays, 16 and a half on weekends, and were supplemented by night buses along Yonge Street. Outdoor entrances like the one shown here at Union Station caused slight anxieties about slippery conditions, especially because it had snowed the day before the subway opened. 20140331endsofline https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331endsofline-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331endsofline.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331endsofline.jpg 1000 479 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331endsofline/ 20140331endsofline 0 0

311362 Sketch of a typical subway station interior by Walter Bell, the Toronto Star, March 29, 1954. The caption for this sketch: “TTC experts say the subway will take passengers up and downtown in less than half the time they used to spend on streetcars. The time from Eglinton to Front Street is clocked at 16 minutes.” 20140331stationsketch https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331stationsketch-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331stationsketch.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331stationsketch.jpg 1000 773 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331stationsketch/ 20140331stationsketch 0 0

311363 Cartoon by Bert Grassick, the Telegram, March 30, 1954. Speed was a major selling point for the new line, especially as a replacement for the Yonge streetcar line. An example of the time savings: travelling between King and College took three minutes by subway, 17 by streetcar. Telegram reporter Philip Murphy compared a test run he took as “a cross between a streetcar ride, a train ride, and a drop down a laundry chute.” 20140331telycartoon https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331telycartoon-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331telycartoon.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331telycartoon.jpg 750 614 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331telycartoon/ 20140331telycartoon 0 0

311364 Commuters waiting outside a downtown station, March 30, 1954. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1128, Series 381, File 298, Item 11847-16. After a week of real-time testing, trains went into service for the public at 1:30 p.m. “The congenital publicity seeker will be deprived of the opportunity of claiming the distinction of being the first subway passenger,” noted the Globe and Mail, “for subway trains will be standing by for travel in both directions at each subway station when the gates open.” By rush hour, long lines flowed out station entrances, as commuters and the curious mingled to take their first ride. Delays of up to 15 minutes just to reach the turnstiles were reported at King station. Later that night, crowds overwhelmed College station thanks to a Maple Leafs playoff match at Maple Leaf Gardens. Overall, 200,000 riders hopped on the subway on opening day. 20140331lineup https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331lineup-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331lineup.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331lineup.jpg 950 754 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331lineup/ 20140331lineup 0 0

311365 How to operate a transfer machine. The Globe and Mail, March 30, 1954. The intense level of ridership on day one overwhelmed station infrastructure. Transfer stamping machines broke down, while token dispensers emptied. Staff were dispatched from Eglinton to Queen to hand out tokens during rush hour. One employee claimed to have sold $100 worth of tokens in a 50-minute span. As for transfer, people who didn’t need them grabbed one anyways as a souvenir. Children ignored pleas from TTC staff to stop playing with the machines. 20140331transfermachine https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331transfermachine-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331transfermachine.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331transfermachine.jpg 640 546 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331transfermachine/ 20140331transfermachine 0 0

311367 Source: the Telegram, March 30, 1954. As a memento, the Telegram offered a form riders could use to commemorate their first subway trip. One question that should have been included which applied to some riders: “Number of times you boarded a train to find it was going opposite your intended direction.” 20140331recordyourfirsttrip https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331recordyourfirsttrip-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331recordyourfirsttrip.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331recordyourfirsttrip.jpg 430 1297 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331recordyourfirsttrip/ 20140331recordyourfirsttrip 0 0

311369 Portion of a banner placed on the last Yonge streetcar, the Toronto Star, March 30, 1954. As the subway went into full service, the final runs were made that afternoon on the Yonge streetcar line, ending a tradition <a href="http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4125.shtml">which stretched back to 1861</a>. A banner placed on the last streetcar proclaimed “Goodbye Traffic Congestion.” The final trip was made mid-afternoon by members of the Upper Canada Railway Society. Streetcars service <a href="http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4117.shtml">also ended on Avenue Road</a>. The combination of the end of these services pleased motorists, who felt like race car drivers over the next few days. 20140331laststreetcar https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331laststreetcar-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331laststreetcar.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331laststreetcar.jpg 640 336 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331laststreetcar/ 20140331laststreetcar 0 0

311372 Cartoon by Les Callan, the Toronto Star, March 30, 1954. A humorous look at some of the reactions to the changes the subway wrought among Torontonians. Much of the coverage noted an unusual expression among opening day commuters: pleasure. “Normally when they get on the buses,” observed TTC employee Victor Langdon, “they look tired out. Today you’d think they were on holiday.” 20140331starcartoon https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331starcartoon-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331starcartoon.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331starcartoon.jpg 1000 896 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331starcartoon/ 20140331starcartoon 0 0

311374 Sketches of opening day passengers by James Reidford, the Globe and Mail, March 31, 1954. Papers were filled with the experiences of first-day riders. Some were confused by the turnstiles, thinking they had to pay a fare to exit as well as enter. One mother told her son to “stop scuffing the nice red seats.” The Globe and Mail observed a woman admiring the colour schemes of the Vitrolite platform tiling, wishing her kitchen was in Summerhill’s grey and red, her bathroom Dundas’s yellow and black, thus proving subway-inspired décor ideas are nothing new. Salesman Wally Nichol recounted comments he had heard. “The waitress in the Union Station soda bar told me there were so many tourist customers that it was like Christmas,” he told the Globe and Mail. “I heard a college student say it must be spring because every woman in Toronto seems to have bought a new hat to ride on the first day.” 20140331passengersketches https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331passengersketches-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331passengersketches.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331passengersketches.jpg 1000 685 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331passengersketches/ 20140331passengersketches 0 0

311375 Cartoon by James Reidford, the Globe and Mail, March 30, 1954. Of the editorials published on opening day, the Globe and Mail’s was the most cautious. “Handsome and useful as it is, the subway is no miracle and will perform none. It will greatly alleviate some of Toronto’s traffic problems. It will get many of Toronto’s people to and from work more quickly and comfortably. But reason and realism compel us to point out that the peak of surface traffic anticipated at the time the subway was begun was reached and passed even while it was a-building.” 20140331openingcartoongm https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331openingcartoongm-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331openingcartoongm.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331openingcartoongm.jpg 640 809 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331openingcartoongm/ 20140331openingcartoongm 0 0

311376 Advertisement, the Telegram, March 31, 1954. Eaton’s capitalized on the subway by building connections with its Queen Street (now the south end of the Eaton Centre) and College Street (now College Park) stores. 20140331eatons https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331eatons-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331eatons.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331eatons.jpg 1000 188 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331eatons/ 20140331eatons 0 0

311377 Workers removing streetcar tracks on Yonge Street, the Telegram, March 31, 1954. After the excitement of day one, passenger levels gradually settled down. The seemingly unending construction on Yonge Street continued a little while longer as streetcar tracks were removed. Municipal and TTC officials pressed their case for more lines; controller Leslie Saunders pushed for a meeting to discuss lines along Queen Street, Bloor Street/Danforth Avenue, and either University Avenue or Spadina Avenue. On the issue of long-term planning, a Globe and Mail editorial dispensed advice that could apply today. “It is not enough for people to think and act in a big way on rapid transit. They have got to think and act in a big way on housing, development, parking, expressways, cultural and recreational facilities—everything that goes into the making of a modern metropolis. They have got to forsake the parish pump, the ward pump, as definitely as, today, they will forsake the ancient cars that grind and clank their way up Yonge Street. They must think along new and bigger lines, under new and better leaders.” 20140331trackremoval https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331trackremoval-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331trackremoval.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140331trackremoval.jpg 950 605 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/03/happy-60th-birthday-yonge-line/slide/20140331trackremoval/ 20140331trackremoval 0 0

If it hadn’t been for a change in plans by Ontario Premier Leslie Frost, the opening of Toronto’s first subway line 60 years ago yesterday might have been marred by bruised egos among city councillors.

In the days leading up to the March 30, 1954, launch of the Yonge line, several members of the City’s Board of Control bellyached that Mayor Allan Lamport would be only the third-highest-ranked dignitary at the opening ceremony, behind Frost and Metropolitan Toronto Chairman Frederick Gardiner. “For the mayor to be ignored is the silliest thing that could ever happen,” complained veteran controller David Balfour. “I object to Toronto being brushed off like this.” Fellow controller Leslie Saunders was irritated that Gardiner would share in the spotlight, as the City had guided most of the subway’s construction, while Metro was a recent provincial creation. Mayor Lamport remained unusually quiet about the matter, though he later engaged in a power struggle with Gardiner after becoming chairman of the TTC.

The plan called for Frost to throw the official switch by himself—but, sensing an opportunity to smooth some ruffled political feathers, he called on Lamport to share the duty. At 11:30 a.m., Frost’s left hand and Lamport’s right switched on the power. Over 40 years after the first serious attempt to build a subway had been defeated by voters, and nearly five after the construction had started, Toronto’s red subway trains were ready to roll.

Hop aboard our gallery train, and join the 200,000 passengers who tested the Yonge line on day one.

Additional material from the March 27, 1954, March 29, 1954, March 30, 1954, and March 31, 1954 editions of the Globe and Mail; the March 29, 1954 and March 30, 1954 editions of the Telegram; and the March 29, 1954, March 30, 1954, and March 31, 1954 editions of the Toronto Star.

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