by Meredith Denning
Getting to the Archives of Ontario is a chore. When the province decided to relocate the reading room to the York University campus in northern Toronto in 2009, it was expected that the University/Spadina subway line would arrive there within a year of the move. The subway site is still a yawning pit, and even with a fleet of dedicated buses, it never takes fewer than 50 minutes to reach the archives from downtown Toronto. Everyone who attends York U. is quietly, Canadian-ly simmering with irritation over this, so the transit authority has set up a small public reception room with a friendly human to listen to complaints and a large stock of cardboard model subway cars to give away. I’m not sure it placates anyone, but the models make dandy souvenirs.
Getting to the Archives of Ontario is a chore. When the province decided to relocate the reading room to the York University campus in northern Toronto in 2009, it was expected that the University/Spadina subway line would arrive there within a year of the move. The subway site is still a yawning pit, and even with a fleet of dedicated buses, it never takes fewer than 50 minutes to reach the archives from downtown Toronto. Everyone who attends York U. is quietly, Canadian-ly simmering with irritation over this, so the transit authority has set up a small public reception room with a friendly human to listen to complaints and a large stock of cardboard model subway cars to give away. I’m not sure it placates anyone, but the models make dandy souvenirs.