Doors Open at Union Station - Another Resounding Success!

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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Doors Open 2008 at Union Station was another resounding success. There were six tours of the station on Saturday that attracted 313 people and six on Sunday with 251 people for a total of 564. In the picture at the left above, TRHA member Stephanie Holowka begins leading one of 12 tours of Union Station that were conducted over the Doors Open weekend. In the middle picture above, a tour group gazes down on the Great Hall from the spectacular vantage point on the third floor.
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The displays in the Great Hall seemed to attract more attention than in past years and there were thousands of visitors who spent time looking at them. It's difficult to maintain an accurate count of all visitors since the station is so busy. There are numerous entrance points, and most people who enjoy the displays don't engage in a dialogue with us. Those who stopped were a combination of Doors Open visitors; GO, TTC and VIA travelers; employees of the TTR, GO and VIA as well those on their way to and from ball games that were passing through the Skywalk. We estimate that approximately 2,500 were engaged with Doors Open at Union Station.

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There were 72 archival photos displayed on large panels, as well as five panels about the City's plans for the station and four panels illustrating GO's plans for the trainshed. The GO panels attracted much favourable attention, both for their design and the plans for the green roof. There was also much interest in the City's retail level redevelopment. In the picture at the right above, Doors Open visitors enjoy the archival display of photographs from the TRHA collection depicting the history of Union Station.

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Our thanks go to the many volunteers who assisted us setting up and then manning the displays and the tours. Much appreciation is extended to those who made this possible.

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by Derek Boles, TRHA; Pictures by Derek Boles