Toronto subway station tiles

The original Toronto subway tile colour scheme was generated by combining a number of background colours with four trim colours. The result was one of subtly varied unity, offering just enough difference between otherwise similar stations to avoid confusion. The regular pattern in the colour scheme went unnoticed by most subway riders.

The colours were chosen to discourage rowdy behaviour and loitering rather than for aesthetic reasons. Consequently, they have the institutional quality of hospital or penitentiary walls. For many years, Torontonians grumbled that their subway stations looked like public washrooms. But now, decades later, the remaining designs have become Modernist classics.

Station names were displayed in large lettering in the trim colour, at eye level at intervals along the platform. The names were repeated in small lettering in the main tile colour along the trim strip at ceiling level. Similar or identical lettering was frequently used on institutional architecture in the 1950s and 60s: see e.g. the University of Manitoba's campus entrance, the Regina Public Library, and the CN station in Windsor.

To get a better idea of how the stations look, both in their original designs and after renovation, see Jose Ongpin's series of Toronto subway typography posters:

• Toronto Subway Typeface History (revised summary, January 2011)
• Toronto Subway History of Typography (detailed series, March 2006)
• Page 1: Yonge Subway
• Page 2: University and Bloor West
• Page 3: Bloor East/Danforth, Yonge North, and Spadina
• Page 4: Kipling/Kennedy, Scarborough RT, North York Centre, Downsview, and Sheppard

In the diagrams below, adjacent stations lie along diagonals running in the upper left–lower right [\] direction. The small labels to the right of each station name are the codes used by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) for identifying escalators and other plant. Consecutive numbers with the same letter indicate adjacent stations.

Best viewed using the Toronto Subway font from Quadrat Communications, though Futura will do in a pinch.

Yonge Subway (1954)

The wall tiles were made of Vitrolite structural glass, a popular decorative material of the 1930s and early 40s associated with the Moderne style. By the time the station walls were finished in 1952, Vitrolite had been out of production for five years! The subway was retro even before it opened.

Modifications

• The original Vitrolite tiling was replaced during the 1980s and 1990s in all stations except Eglinton, resulting in an unfortunate hodgepodge of materials, colours, and typefaces. (At Eglinton, the Vitrolite remains; the small lettering in the trim strip has been repainted in white instead of grey.)
• Union underwent major changes in 2013–14 including the addition of a new platform with public art installations.

University Subway (1963)

The University line used a small number of subdued colour schemes. This gave it a dull, dignified, 1960s appearance consistent with University Avenue's reputation as the world's longest mausoleum. Variety of materials made up for the lack of variety of colour. St. Andrew and Osgoode were finished in Vitrolite glass left over from the Yonge line. St. Patrick and Queen’s Park – the round-walled tunneled stations – required curved panels, which were made of painted metal. Museum and St. George were the first two stations to use the new ceramic tiles that later clad the Bloor-Danforth line.

Modifications

• St. Andrew and Osgoode were renovated in the early 1970s with rather attractive multicoloured tiling and vertical vinyl strips, which completely covered or replaced the original Vitrolite glass tiles. Renovations were necessary because of significant damage from water infiltration. They were redone again, St. Andrew in 2009–13 and Osgoode in 2015–16.
• St. Patrick and Queen’s Park have been refreshed since opening with the addition of enameled metal station name signs that cover the original painted lettering, but have retained their original colour schemes.
• Museum underwent a major redesign by Diamond Schmitt Architects in 2007–08.

Bloor-Danforth Subway (1966–1968)

The Bloor-Danforth line uses durable ceramic tiles that have aged well. There are two colour sequences: from Bay running west (16 stations), and from Yonge running east (13 stations).

*Exceptions

• St. George has green trim instead of red, to match the University line station.
• Islington and Warden have a three-colour scheme which highlights their erstwhile status as terminal stations (until 1980). Islington’s third colour is pale blue. Warden uses different materials in addition to the regular ceramic tile; the colour scheme in shades of brown is unique on the subway. Mark Brader gives full details.

Modifications

• A fire at Christie station on October 15, 1976 damaged much of the tile. Parts of the station now have brown trim instead of the original green.
• At some stations, the small lettering in the trim strip has been repainted in white instead of the main wall tile colour: Runnymede, Christie, Bathurst, Spadina, Sherbourne, Chester, and Greenwood (as of April 4, 2005).
• Pape and Dufferin stations underwent major changes inside and out under the TTC’s Station Modernization Program (2007–14).

Further Reading

• From James Bow’s Transit Toronto web site:
• An Essay on Original Subway Station Design, by Mark Brader
• A History of the Original Yonge Subway, by James Bow
• The University Subway, by James Bow
• A History of Subways on Bloor and Queen Streets, by James Bow
• Eglinton Station – Toronto’s Former Suburban Gateway
• Canada’s First Subway, City of Toronto Archives
• The Subway Turns Sixty, Archives of Ontario
• Toronto got itself a subway… really!, a delightful CBC television clip, April 4, 1954, posted at CBC Archives
• ‘Subway chic’ inspires graphic designers, by Dave Leblanc, The Globe and Mail, Friday, March 25, 2005, page G12
• Subterranean style, by Christopher Hume, Toronto Star, Saturday, March 27, 2004
• What the original TTC subway station tiles looked like, by Chris Bateman, blogTO, December 3, 2013 (quotes original documents)
• The lost beauty of the TTC’s original colour scheme, by Derek Flack, blogTO, March 21, 2017 (cites this page)
• On Vitrolite:
• The Preservation of Historic Pigmented Structural Glass, Preservation Briefs no 12, U.S. National Park Service
• Vitrolite, Carrara & Sani-Onyx, The Old House Web
• Building Styles – Art Moderne, OntarioArchitecture.com
• Vitrolite brochures, University of Toledo, including excerpts from 52 Designs to Modernize Main Street With Glass, Libbey-Owens-Ford (1930s promotional material)

Written 2005-03-26 by John Chew and Justin Bur, with additional material from Mark Brader, Dan Hammond, and Robert Lubinski.
Inspired by Spacing magazine’s subway buttons and the Mean City exhibition at the Dominion Modern museum.
Last revised 2018-02-24. URL: http://jbb.poslfit.com/Pages/subway-tiles.html.