Bay Light Rail Transit Station
Jasper Avenue at 103rd & 104th Streets
Architects: John A. MacDonald w/ Frost Brammar
Constructed: 1981-83
Opened: June 21st, 1983
“A sunflower seed shell, the only visible litter, lay unnoticed by workers Friday as they rushed to finish Edmonton’s LRT expansion for next week’s opening. The shell, dropped by some passing worker at the bottom of a Bay Station escalator, was in sharp contrast to the sparkling clean stainless steel and tile newness of the two futuristic stations in Edmonton’s new $109.6 million LRT expansion from 101st to 108th Streets.”
Thankfully for the City’s reputation, its sunflower-munching workers made their deadline. The first phase of its “South Light Rail Transit” project was complete. A good thing too. When they promised it would be opened by July 1983 it wasn’t just a commitment to Edmontonians — it was a commitment to the world. Edmonton was acting as host-city for the XII Universiade Games which were set to begin on July 1st, and the City’s pride-and-joy, the LRT, was a committed part of its transportation strategy.
The completion of the expansion marked the end of thirty months of work. It was on June 21st that the city’s newest LRT stations were inaugurated. After riding the train from Corona to Clareview and back to Bay, politicians, business leaders, and Edmonton Transit personnel took time to speak and answer questions. Mayor Cec Purves and Transportation Minister Marvin Moore touted the benefits of the addition. City Commissioner Dietze extended heartfelt recognition to the businesses of Jasper Avenue who had endured nearly three years of lowered sales as a result of construction. Wendt Campbell, Edmonton Transit’s Public Relations Officer, explained the stations use and how they would be serviced by twenty new Siemens–Düwag U2 cars purchased to meet demands of the add-on. A bagpipe march was soulfully played by the Amalgamated Transit Union’s pipe band.
Yet, as the Edmonton Journal quipped, “the real stars were not the politicians but the futuristic new Corona and Bay LRT stations that have eschewed concrete in favour of chrome and shiny, dark tiles — at a price apparently lower than older LRT stations.” “LRT riders will either be shocked or pleased with the two new stations at 104th and 107th Streets,” the paper continued. The public was split on which of the two newest terminals they liked more, be it “the cozy appearance of Bay… or the open appeal of Corona.”
Bay’s beauty won over one staunch LRT critic. “Engineer Al Kolinsky wasn't sure a city the size of Edmonton needed LRT. ‘But for a rapid transit system, I think we got the right one.’” Charles and Megan Jackson, long-time Edmontonians, agreed. The two, once frequent users of the Paris and London metros, rated Edmonton’s as “right up there. The big impression to me is it shows how big Edmonton is to have a facility of this nature.” “It’s very clean and presentable,” Charles continued. “I think the City should be commended for what it has achieved.”
While one could strictly describe the style of Bay as Modernist, the feel of it’s something different. There’s almost a futurist aesthetic to the station. Excluding its sister, Corona, it’s a feel that’s unmatched by any other on the line. The sleek profile, round tile motifs, chrome paneling, and deep blue accents speak to a sense of progress and optimism around Light Rail Transit, and Edmonton generally. Mayor Purves addressed this, remarking that the design was intended to grab the public’s attention and renew “the quest for further development of this fast, efficient mode of public transportation.”
That optimism and self-assuredness has faltered in the decades since. For years, Edmonton was the downtrodden “boiler room of Canada,” while “LRT” morphed into a negative buzzword trotted out as a boogeyman by fiscally-conservative pundits. But Bay continues to stand as a testament to an era of unparalleled confidence. In its way, that futuristic appeal has become retrofuturistic — a projection of a future from the past.
Image Gallery:
Sources:
“LRT Extension Ready for Big Rush,” Edmonton Journal, June 24, 1980.
“There’s Glitter Down Under as LRT Extends its Routes,” Edmonton Journal, June 18, 1983.
“Right on Track,” Edmonton Journal, June 22, 1983.
“LRT Extension Ready for Big Rush,” Edmonton Journal, June 24, 1980.
“Roof Leak Doesn’t Mar Splashy Opening,” Norm Ovenden, Edmonton Journal, June 26, 1983.
