1927: A Royal Inauguration — Complete with Gold Scissors and a Gold Key — for the Third and Current Version of Toronto’s Union Station

August 6, 1927

In downtown Toronto, the present-day version of the major railway station known as Union Station was formally opened. The original Union Station had been built in that part of Toronto in 1858 and was torn down in 1871. Its successor was a larger building that opened there two years later and remained in use until being replaced in 1927.

The third Union Station was inaugurated by Edward, Prince of Wales, who would assume the British throne as King Edward VIII in January 1936 and reign until abdicating in December of that year. Those accompanying Edward as he proceeded to Union Station on that Saturday morning in August included Stanley Baldwin, who was serving the second of his three terms as prime minister of the United Kingdom.

Edward’s first ceremonial duty for the occasion entailed using a gold key to open the main door to the new station. His subsequent action involved wielding a pair of gold scissors to cut the tape spread across the entrance. The national news agency Canadian Press (CP) recounted what happened next. “He then went in turn to the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific ticket offices and purchased ticket no. 1,” reported CP. “It was good between all stations.” This article further noted, “Premier Baldwin did not take his ticket.” Edward, Baldwin, and the others in their party then left Union Station.

All of these decades later, this station remains a crucial transportation hub in that region of Canada. Union Station has become Canada’s busiest transportation facility, as a matter of fact. In addition, it ranks second only to New York Penn Station as the busiest railway station in all of North America. Union Station was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1975 and a Heritage Railway Station in 1989. (The accompanying postcard of the current Union Station in Toronto was created in 1927.)

Image Credit: Public Domain

For more information on Toronto’s present-day version of Union Station, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Toronto)