My steampunk glass commute

Where's Waldo?
Toronto, ON
April 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A quarter of a million people pass through Toronto's Union Station every day. The vast majority of them slog along filthy concrete walkways, dodging hastily rearranged construction cladding and precariously dangling temporary light fixtures and cables as they shuffle, sheep-like, into and out of the serpentine tunnels that stretch out from this massive hub like an oil rig's undersea pipes.

Some, however, get to walk high up, through these steampunk-esque glass-and-iron monstrosities that, more than anything else, define this incredible space and challenge the teeming masses who pass underneath it to break their monotonous downward gazes and look up for a change.

I haven't had enough time to explore this space, so the way into this glass-enclosed wonder remains a mystery to me. Perhaps on my next visit I'll carve out enough time to a) find the way in, and b) not get hopelessly lost in the process.

But until then, this photo will have to do. Which explains the spontaneous grumbling from those around me as I step out of the current of commuters and point my lens toward this delightful glass monstrosity. The grumbling is worth it, because a little sense of wonder in the middle of a long journey has got to be good for the soul. That's enough for me to crack a smile as I tuck my camera back away, heft my backpack over my shoulder and continue toward my train home. I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell about this place on my next trip in.

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