Mysterious NYC-style subway sign has been directing people to TTC for years

A sign that looks like it was pulled from the streets of New York City has been directing people to Toronto's subway for years, and seemingly nobody knows how it got there.

Take a stroll along Jackman Avenue, just west of Chester subway station on the TTC's Line 2 Bloor-Danforth, and you'll see a curious sign mounted on a post outside of a surface parking lot on the east side of the street.

A small black sign with white lettering has been present in this location for almost eight years, but neither the TTC, City of Toronto, local councillor, nor the local BIA have any idea why it's there.

A late January social media post tipped us off to this curiosity, and the last week of trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of this seemingly undocumented sign has been a frustrating window into municipal bureaucracy littered with redirects and dead-ends.

Transit expert Steve Munro suggested in a post on X that the sign was the sole survivor of previous wayfinding signage from the early days of the Bloor-Danforth Line, though the TTC has been quick to dispel this rumour.

The TTC's Stuart Green says that the transit agency doesn't have any record of such signage, and suggests that it may be a more recent installation.

"The similarity to the MTA font and style suggests it could have been installed for TV/movie shoot or it was something installed by a rogue transit enthusiast who spent some time in NYC," says Green, adding that the signage is "not the style we would use for wayfinding."

Going back in time on Google Street View confirms that this sign has only been present since 2017, replacing an earlier sign that was indeed installed by the TTC, and appears to have been the original Bloor-Danforth wayfinding signage that Steve Munro spoke of.

Getting an explanation about this sign's origins has been a challenge bordering on the impossible, involving outreach to the TTC, the local councillor's office, the local BIA and the City. 

In the end, the City simply directed the request back to the TTC — where the query started — closing the loop of confusion and bringing us no closer to an answer.

A representative explained, "The sign in question is not an approved City of Toronto sign. The City's records do not indicate any film-related permits or requests for sign installation or removal in that area during 2017."

The City representative went on to say that the "TTC is responsible for installing wayfinding signage at their stations and transit stops," though further follow-ups with the TTC have not gotten anywhere.

Perhaps residents of Jackman Avenue might have some insight into this little Toronto oddity, but for now, the sign will just have to remain a mystery.