A station at Glencairn and Yonge was considered for the North Yonge extension in the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, this was dropped (along with Glen Echo Station at Yonge Boulevard) because of budgetary concerns. If built, it would have been placed between Eglinton and Lawrence stations on the Yonge line.
Station description
Glencairn station was constructed at ground level within the median of Allen Road, between the Glencairn Avenue and Viewmount Avenue bridges.
Glencairn Avenue, at the north end of the station, has entrances on the north and south side of the street. Here there are both up and down escalators and stairs between the centre train platform, the intermediate concourse where there is a collectors booth and turnstiles, and street level. Viewmount Avenue, at the south end of the station, only has stairs to an automatic entrance on the north side of the street.
As part of the Easier Access program, construction began in 2022 to add elevators to the centre platform, which connects to the street-level concourse. The project was completed on October 1, 2024.[3]
Architecture and art
Escalators between the platform, an intermediate concourse and street levels, all under the glass roof with artwork Joy
Glencairn was designed by Adamson Associates.[4][5] A central vaulted glass roof spans the length of the station, allowing the penetration of natural light to all areas of the station during the day and to be seen at night as a long illuminated strip of light.
The glass roof is directly above the single centre platform. This is similarly to Yorkdale station, where the interior walls of the station at platform level are unfinished concrete, with curved sections over the tracks to form a lower ceiling. Unlike Yorkdale, the curve is less sudden making the walls more rounded in appearance and they are clad with white horizontal panels between vertical concrete "ribs", along with a wider orange panel strip displaying the station name. Platform level seating is sheltered within glass walls. Wayfinding signage is backlit. Floors and some of the walls are clad with red-brown tiles.
Glencairn features an artistic skylight entitled Joy designed by Rita Letendre. It existed in two versions, both by the same artist. The first version was installed in 1977 and consisted of painted translucent glazed act panels; it was removed in the early 1990s at the artist's request after leakage damaged the art panels below the skylight, and was replaced with a lighter weight-supported glazing system. The second version, installed in 2020, is a reinterpretation of the original work. It consists of art colours inserted between two glass panels.[6][7]
Transfers to buses occur at curbside stops outside this station. 109 Ranee runs along Marlee Avenue one block west of Glencairn station.
References
^"Subway ridership, 2023-2024"(PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved 12 November 2024. This table shows the typical number of customer-boardings made on each subway line and the number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on a typical weekday in Sep 2023-Aug 2024.
