Captured in the image below back in the mid-1970s, Toronto's iconic Union Station was once a serious target for demolition due to that era's firm belief in the benefits of urban renewal. This structure was completed in 1927 as the third such station of this name, with earlier versions built in 1858 and 1873. Covered in 50 years worth of grime and soot thanks to the high amount of air pollution that came with leaded gas and weaker environmental standards all around, Union Station was seen as an out-of-date eyesore in dire need of replacement, like so many other structures of its time. In the face of diminished business, both CN and CPR proposed to the City that Union Station be redeveloped into what they were promoting as the Metro Centre, which would have buried the concourse level below a new office development in an arrangement that would have been something like the fate that had befallen New York's Penn Station just a decade before.

Union Station, covered in 50 years of grime, mid-1970s, image via the City of Toronto Archives

Thanks to local opposition and a rare moment of forward-thinking, City Hall rejected the proposal and saved the station. In 2000, Union Station was purchased by the City of Toronto, kickstarting what would become a decade-long process of planning and undertaking the station's complete restoration, at a total cost of roughly $1 billion CAD. Today, Union Station remains the busiest commuter hub in Canada, with more than 65 million passengers per year. In 2015, Union Station became home to the Union Pearson Express (UPX) a direct passenger service to the Toronto Pearson International Airport, a service which joins the TTC, GO, and Viarail, in cementing the station as the point of entry to Canada's largest city for millions of Canadians and visitors alike. Seen in the image below, Union Station has today become much more than just a transportation hub after being transformed into an urban destination. The addition of the outdoor summer market pictured below is just one example of Union Station's exciting new lease on life. 

Union Station, 2015, image via Google Street View

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