Every day you wonder, “Why did they build this station so small?!”
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| The main concourse level at King station. We’ve outgrown the original design. |
In the early 1950s when the Yonge line was constructed, cut and cover was the construction method of choice, because it was cheaper than tunnel boring. This placed constraints on the size (and location) of stations. King station—oddly undersized to begin with—is an example of how we’ve adapted the initial design with additions such as the Commerce Court entrance in 1972. The subsequent years of downtown growth have only served to accentuate the feeling of close quarters.
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| Tile pattern in the humid Commerce Court entrance corridor |
The southbound platform of King features a fun ‘exit only’ escalator. Occasionally you’ll see someone walk into it and then sheepishly realize it wasn’t the exit they wanted. Too late!
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| The ‘exit only’ sidewalk staircase from the southbound platform |
King station opened on March 30, 1954 as part of the original Yonge line. It serves as a primary connection to the underground PATH system linking many buildings in the downtown core. And in case you were wondering exactly which monarch is the King: it’s King George III (1738-1820). Yes, we named one of the first streets in York after ‘mad King George’.
God save the King!
Photo Gallery
Tour the station, and view captioned historical images from its past (including glimpses of the original mint-green Vitrolite tiling, uncovered while the TTC updated its platform advertising brackets, in the spring of 2016):
Transfer:
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| King station transfer |
More about King
TTC Station info | Map | Wikipedia: KingMy next stop: McCowan
Previous station: Coxwell
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