The King Street West Railway Subway Underpass is located between Atlantic Ave and Sudbury St in the King West Village and Liberty Village neighbourhoods of Toronto.
The Development of Toronto’s Rail & Road System
In the 1850s, railway lines began being constructed through the area. This joined the region with the upper Great Lakes and destinations in between. During the next three decades, numerous tracks were built to move passengers and freight from Toronto to London, Detroit and Chicago and, in time, to cities on the West Coast.
Rail traffic in the King Street West area was quite heavy. It was dangerous for pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles trying to cross between the City of Toronto and what was then the Town of Parkdale. So in 1885, a report was submitted for the cost of a railway bridge crossing King St W. The estimates were $38,300 for a wooden bridge and $72,850 for an iron one.
The King Street West Railway Underpass
An iron bridge was chosen with approximately $160,000 in contributions – $80,000 from the City of Toronto, $15,500 from the Municipality of Parkdale and the balance from the three railway companies whose lines crossed the area, Grand Trunk, Northern and Canadian Pacific. The city would be responsible for maintaining the roadway, masonry work and sidewalk while the railway companies had to keep the bridge superstructure, including the pillars, in good repair. Designed by City of Toronto Engineer Charles Sproatt, the iron girder bridge crosses King St W diagonally.
The first sod was turned in February 1888. The earth removed to make the underpass was taken 700 m east to fill the Garrison Creek hollow and help create Stanley Park. The following year the town of Parkdale became part of the City of Toronto.
In October 1890, the project was nearing completion. King St W between Dufferin St and Strachan Ave was being prepared for traffic through the new underpass by workers putting down a block roadway. The King Street West Railway Underpass solved the traffic safety issues and was essential to Toronto’s rail and road system growth.
In 1912, the Grand Trunk Railway Company proposed reconstructing the railway underpass. The plan was to replace the stone pillars supporting the bridge with steel, plus the city wanted the headroom increased from 14 ft to 18 ft so that busses could pass through without difficulty. This would have been done by lowering the roadway by four feet. These plans fell through as the stone pillars remain, and the bridge’s vertical height is 4.1 m or approximately 14 ft.
200 Cows Tie-Up Traffic
On an October afternoon in 1913, city dwellers were treated to a pastoral sight. About 200 cows were shepherded from Sunnyside to King St W by one man, four boys and a weary dog along the way, trampling lawns and flower beds.
Residents “watched the fun” and the procession from their verandahs. People ran in all directions to stay out of the herd’s way, and traffic on King St W was brought to a standstill. Cows pushed against cars on the busy thoroughfare and crowded the remaining brave pedestrians. Streetcar operators tried their best to move the cattle along and stay on time to no avail. For 17 minutes, eight streetcars were trapped by the bovine blockade under the King Street West Railway Underpass. The cows finally made their way up an embankment on King St W, just west of Shaw St. Perhaps they were heading to the Western Cattle Market once on the south side of Wellington St W, between Strachan Ave and Tecumseth St.
The Heritage-Designated Underpass
In 1975, the structure’s wooden deck was replaced with concrete. The underpass was added to Toronto’s Heritage Register.
Did You Know?
- There are a total of 29 stone pillars helping support the bridge. Each one is numbered near the top of the pillar.
- For decades, the underpass was known as the “King Street Subway.”
- If the name Sproatt sounds familiar when it comes to Toronto’s architecture, that’s because renowned architect Henry Sproatt was the son of Charles. Henry designed some of the city’s beautiful landmarks, including the Canada Life Building (University Ave and Queen St W) and the Manufacturer’s Life Insurance Building (Bloor St E and St Paul’s Sq).
- King St was one of the first roads in the Town of York (Toronto). The street is named after King George III (1738-1820), the reigning monarch when the street was laid out.
King Street West Railway Underpass Photos
King Street West Railway Subway (Underpass) 1888
“This railway underpass is one of the oldest in the City of Toronto. Rail lines were first built through this area in the 1850s, connecting Toronto to the upper Great Lakes and points in between. By the 1880s, multiple tracks had been constructed to carry passengers and freight to destinations such as London and Chicago and, eventually, to the edges of the continent. Rail traffic was busy enough to cause lengthy stops and dangerous crossings for pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles travelling between the City of Toronto and the Town of Parkdale. Designed by Charles Sproatt, a City of Toronto engineer, this underpass succeeded in solving the traffic problem, and was an important structure in the development of Toronto’s rail and road system.”
City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties – Heritage Toronto 2006
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register: King Street West Railway Subway (Underpass)
- Heritage Toronto plaque
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Jun 3, 1885, pg 2
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Dec 20, 1887, pg 4
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Feb 24, 1888, pg 8
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Feb 23, 1889, pg 14
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Oct 23, 1890, pg 8
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Sep 7, 1912, pg 9
- The Toronto Daily Star Newspaper Archives: Sep 7, 1912, pg 5
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Oct 15, 1913, pg 8
- Toronto Street Names: An Illustrated Guide to Their Origins by Leonard Wise & Allan Gould (2011), pg 135
- Photos: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photos: City of Toronto Archives & Toronto Public Library
