The 1960s called for a shift in the way the city of Toronto viewed the design of their subway stations. The city began to move away from the over Utilitarian style and opted for designs on the new Spadina line that would be lively, creative and combined the art and architectural fields.

In 1974, the Toronto Transit Committee commissioned Arthur Erickson Architects and artist, Gerald Zeldin to both design and create large-scale public artwork for the proposed Eglinton West Station. The proposed station would bring new life and more opportunities for Toronto North to use the subway system. The station would soon serve as a sense of identity for the area instilling pride amongst both residents and riders.

The station stands as a Modernist monument at the corner of Eglinton Avenue West and Allen Road. It appears as an octagonal glass-walled pavilion with an exposed concrete waffle-slab roof both on the interior and exterior. The station features a neutral material palette of sandblasted concrete, stainless steel, glass walls and variated orange tile as finishes. This gives the space a surreal and calming quality amongst the activity of the station. There is a clear emphasis placed on light and shadow through the use of bubble windows, cleverly placed pyramidal skylights and thoughtfully integrated artificial lighting within the coffered ceiling. Past the entry hall is a set of terraced staircases that slowly bring users down to the platform level.These terraced platforms feature a variety of bubble windows that allow for natural light to penetrate. However, they also provide views into the electrical sub station. This sub station was a requirement of this particular station and is located in the central void of the station. It is dressed in a metal shed and enclosed in glass to allow for further light penetration. The treatment of the sub station and allowance for full sightlines into the space further emphasizes the Utilitarian approach to the modernist movement.

At the platform level, riders are greeted with Gerald Zeldin’s infamous and original, Summertime Streetcar, a mural consisting of abstracted TTC streetcars. The artwork is a pair of 2-storey porcelain-enamelled tiled murals that oppose each other on opposite sides of the platform. The murals are located in the centre of the platforms and users experience the scale of the pieces as they descend down the escalator or stairs. 

• Architect - Arthur Erickson Architectural Corporation  <-- More buildings by this architect.
• Architect - Clifford & Lawrie  <-- More buildings by this architect.
• Artist - Gerald Zeldin
• Structural engineer - M.M. Dillon Ltd.