Caption: It's a rainy day in the city as a set of Bombardier T1 subway cars pause at the Toronto Transit Commission's Eglinton West subway station on the trip south on the Spadina Line. It's even wet in the subway - water pools on the north side of the platforms, probably blown or leaking in from the open section just behind us. Cars from the nearby Allen Expressway (on either side of the subway line) can be heard swishing past on rainy pavement...well, at least on the northbound side; the southbound traffic is perpetually choked at the Eglinton Avenue West exit.

To add a little spice to the system compared to its previous utilitarian and functional stations (that some compare to public washrooms because of the spartan nature and tiling), in the 1970's the TTC approached a number of architectural firms to design stations along the new Spadina subway line, which opened in 1978. Eglinton West was designed by Arthur Erickson Architects and featured the a mix of concrete, brick, dark earth tones, sharp edges and windows lining the platforms, heralding the transition from bright outdoor open cut subway line to subterranean underground tunnels south of Eglinton. Art installations were also featured at each station, and Eglinton West is known for its large "Summertime Streetcar" mural work by Gerald Zeldin at the south end of the platforms.