Toronto subway stations actually had a smart design until the TTC ruined it

Sometimes sticky and often dreary, for better or worse, Toronto’s subway stations have a distinct look to them that can sometimes feel a bit random.

But, despite the harsh fluorescent lights and brutalist feeling, the TTC originally designed its stations with purpose and reason — before throwing it all out the window.

Recently, the Youtuber Not Smooth Steve dug into the little-known history of the TTC colour coding that used to define the city's stations.

"I've known about the colour code for many years and don't recall where I first heard of it,” Steve tells blogTO. "It's just one of those weird things you never really think about, but once you know it exists, you can't help but see it!"

Thanks to Steve, we now have an overview of how subway stations used to look in Toronto and, with a little cursory research, what exactly went wrong.

The OG colour scheme

The station look for Toronto's subway was simple: clean lines, matching fonts, and calculated tile colouring.

Originally, four main colours were planned for the Yonge line — which opened with 12 stations in 1954 — but due to budget constraints, they settled on three main colours with four bold accents. The result created 12 unique colour combinations, one for each station.

But the colour combos weren't random: The patterns were placed deliberately to help riders associate stations with a specific look. The material of choice was vitrolite, a vibrant structural glass popular in the 20th century, later discontinued due to its lack of durability.

Expansion of subway and style

For the Line 1 expansion up University Avenue in the early 1960s, the TTC wanted to keep a similar theme, but virtolite had gone out of fashion. So stations like St. Andrew and Osgoode used leftover vitrolite tiles but ditched the colour sequence.

The curved walls of St. Patrick and Queen's Park made tile material a difficult choice, so painted metal panels were used thanks to their bend. The final two stations, Museum and St. George, got upgraded with durable ceramic tiles.

There's still a loose pattern with this extension, but it comes from the main colour on the station's walls and the materials used rather than just the station's colour palette.

Bloor-Danforth got it right

When the Bloor-Danforth line opened in 1966, the stations showcased what the TTC had learnt from its past construction missteps. They stuck with the colour-sequencing approach but expanded to five main colours and used more durable ceramic tiles for Museum and St. George.

Three stations did break the pattern, though: Islington and Warden, to highlight their status as terminal hubs, and St. George, which went full monochrome green for unknown reasons.

Design off the rails

As the TTC expanded, the carefully curated tile schemes came to a screeching halt. Later additions to the Yonge and Bloor-Danforth lines didn't bother following the original design playbook.

The more recent University line extension did things differently with big, bold, geometric styles showing up in stations north of Spadina. Sheppard-Yonge opted for bare concrete and art installations, which the Vaughan extension followed. This officially signaled the end of the old TTC aesthetic.

The makeover misses

As decades passed, stations needed redesigns to fix wear and tear, and add accessibility updates. This led to original features being swapped out or erased.

The Yonge line, with its original vitrolite tiles, has mostly been redone with the  exception of Eglinton station, though you can still see the original vitrolite during construction periods (so, as most Toronto residents know, at all times).

Some stations tried to preserve past designs but didn't quite nail it. Dundas, for instance, kept its yellow tiles during its remodel, but went with a yellow so ugly the TTC changed the lighting in the station to a warm white to make it more bearable.

Meanwhile, the Bloor-Danforth line has mostly held up. The use of ceramic tiles helped with longevity in these stations, though newer tile sections from accessibility renovations don’t always match. Pape and Dufferin stations completely broke from tradition with their aesthetic makeovers.

Also, Christie station literally caught fire in 1976, and while most of the original design stayed, the colour for the lettering was changed from green to a reddish brown.

Fun font facts

It's not just the colour tile colours that have changed over time. The TTC's originally commissioned font, known simply as "Toronto Subway," has had a rocky history with a lot of inconsistencies.

Some stations have tighter tracking and subtle weight differences, while other stations have swapped the standard font for similar-looking ones like Helvetica or Unvers 55. (Queen Station in particular has been called out by designers for its garish use of Helvetica.)

But 2002 saw a return to form, with all new subway stations pivoting back to using "Toronto Subway." The TTC also did a complete overhaul of signage in 2013, when they brought back the historic typeface.

Steve's final thoughts

As a self-proclaimed transit nerd, Steve often focuses his content on transit history in Toronto, as many of the city's residents have an attachment to the TTC — whether they love it or hate it.

"I never expected this video to get as many views as it has! I mean, tile colours? Who would watch that? It turns out, a lot of people!"

Having been creating content about Toronto for several years, amassing a YouTube following of over 100,000, Steve's other popular videos include the city's tribulations with an airport rail system, why Dundas Street has so many twists and turns, and the logic behind Toronto's many fake houses.