I was standing in the York Concourse inside Union Station staring up at the map of Toronto’s underground PATH system. I had seen the signs before while taking the subway around downtown, and whenever I took the GO Train home to see my family. A modicum of research told me the PATH was a shopping centre of underground passageways. I had never explored it before and a rainy Friday in January seemed like as good a day as any to get lost. I found the You Are Here marker on the map, I was in the York Concourse, and decided as a first move my goal would be to get around to the other side where the Bay Concourse was. A simple objective, should be easy enough – how complicated could a series of underground shopping centres be?

I followed the signs north and then east, skirting along Front St. as I headed towards Bay, secure from the rain outside as I stayed along the covered corridors.

Union Station is an ever-changing mess of a labyrinth as they continue construction that has been on-going for as long as I can remember. One day someone, somewhere, will be able to make sense of it. Today is not that day as I walk down a flight of stairs I had never seen before. I’m wandering around with a vague sense of my direction, but mostly using hope to guide me. There are connecting tunnels and when I finally come to another map I look for the You Are Here marker. I’m in the Royal Bank Plaza, north of my intended destination.

This is a fine development. The Bay Concourse wouldn’t have been much of a progression anyway. I need a goal, an end game, something to strive for. I set my sights on the Eaton Centre where, if I make it, I’ll treat myself to an Orange Julius. Looking at the map my first move should be to head towards the Toronto Dominion Centre, but I’m running close to the University Line and will have to cut further east towards Bay St. if I’m going to make it to the Eaton Centre.

The first hint of what would later become the PATH was constructed in 1900 when the Eaton’s department store built an underground tunnel underneath James St. so that shoppers could walk from the main department store at Yonge and Queen to the Eaton’s Annex which was located behind the old City Hall. This portion of the tunnel is still in use today to connect the Eaton’s Centre to the Bell Trinity Square office complex. I was never able to find my way to that portion on this particular trek.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I descended into the underworld. I had read up on this underground shopping centre and it really is set up like a mall, with stores covering just about any need, all tucked away and safe from the outside elements. Large sections open up to reveal food courts with typical food court fare; Greek, Chinese, Thai, burgers. In-between there are the connecting pathways that have clothing stores like Brooks Brothers and Winners. There are also doctor’s offices, I passed a wax bar, and travel agencies like Flight Centre and Trip Advisor.

I found myself in the Commerce Court which must be just below the financial district. I’m basing this assumption on the name, the fact that a large portion of the PATH is underneath the financial district, and the majority of the people I see walking around are dressed in sharp clothing and walking with a certain self-assuredness. They’ve played this game before, have helped write the rules.

Continuing the trend of covering every possible base down here I pass another beauty salon that also offers waxing along with nail treatments and eyebrow sculpting. There is also a jewelry store, and gift shops for the tourists whose hotels are up above.

I started watching Parks and Recreation recently and I always laughed at the idea of Andy starting up his own business of shoe shining, the idea seemed absurd to me. As someone who predominantly wears canvas shoes the idea of a shoe shine station was foreign to me, something pulled out of history. Who gets their shoes shinned anymore? Apparently quite a few because in the first half an hour I was wandering around I passed three shoe shine stations.

The expansion of the underground walkways didn’t happen until the 1960’s under city planner Matthew Lawson. As builders began constructing taller and taller buildings, Toronto’s sidewalks were becoming overcrowded. Lawson convinced some of these developers to build underground malls below the buildings, with the promise that they would eventually be linked. The Toronto Dominion Centre was the first to construct such a complex which was completed in 1967. The first expansion occurred in the 1970’s with the construction of the Richmond-Adelaide office tower and the Sheraton Centre hotel complex. A new city council didn’t like the idea of the underground system, however the tenants of the buildings did; and ultimately the developers bowed to the tenants desires and connected to the system.

In my own adventure I had gotten cocky. Once out of the ever-shifting nature of Union Station I was doing well, following along and keeping my compass bearings in check. I stopped looking at the maps, confident that I knew my city, and I wasn’t about to lose my sense of direction now…

… except I did.

I finally checked a map sure that I was on track. I wasn’t. I had gotten myself turned around and headed farther west, almost making it to the University Line, the complete opposite of the way that I wanted to go. I could hear the Minotaur just around the next bend, it was made of my own hubris.

Everything down here is geared towards convenience. Working late up in one of the towers above and need to grab a quick something for dinner? Don’t worry, there’s a grocery store down here that you could run to on your lunch – why not pick up lunch there while you’re at it? Have a dinner party to go to and need a bottle of wine, there’s an LCBO. Important meeting and need your pant cuffs touched up to go with your newly shined shoes; stop by Tip Top Tailors.

I’m not so bold as to assume I know where I’m going now, I’ve played that game before and gotten burned. But I’m starting to wonder if I’ve gotten turned around again. Either that or there really is a second Harry Rosen down here. After a while all the ornate tile work and columns start to look the same.

A large portion of the PATH is underneath the financial district and all the big banks are represented down here; BMO, Scotiabank, Toronto-Dominion. As I pass into each different concourse I feel like a member of the Warriors trekking through different gang territories trying to make my way home. I wonder if there are any territory battles between the warring factions; maybe not physical – maybe – but attempts to make their concourse better than the rest.

The PATH is considered an important contribution to the Toronto’s downtown core. Not only is it used to ease sidewalk traffic up above, but with it’s links to public transport, as well as several major downtown hotels, it accommodates more than 200,000 daily commuters and thousands of tourists and residents alike traveling to sports and cultural events. It is a safe haven from the cold and snow in the winter, and heat and humidity in the summer. As long as you don’t mind the possibility of getting lost a little bit.

Which I am…again. I’ve gotten myself all turned around somehow. I thought I’d recovered from my previous blunder already, but looking around in the Scotiabank I feel like I’ve been here before. I start to question how long I’ve actually been down here in the underground; an hour? A day? A week? Time is slowly losing it’s meaning as the memory of the sun begins to fade. I consider my options and my only choice now is to dig deeper and hope I can break through the other side. Keep going until I get there, or I can’t go any further. Which ever comes first.

The place is designed like a maze, the fight for territory has won out against the ease of access for us poor souls who are forced – or worse, choose – to navigate this land. Buildings concerned about losing customers to their rivals insisted that the PATH signage not dominate their buildings, or their own signage. They won out and the result is the current system. United we stand, divided we fall as many complain that the system is hard to navigate.

I’ve been following signs and maps leading towards the The Hudson’s Bay Company, I can see their familiar tile work and colour pallet begin to take hold. I remember from my time up above that from Hudson’s Bay it’s just a quick jump to the Eaton’s Centre. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.
I emerge from a set of doors into the south end of the Eaton’s Centre, I’ve made it, I’ve survived. Though it was a twisted maze of hallways, corridors, escalators, elevators, and ramps, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. There are maps along the way if you’re paying attention and looking out for them. If you do get lost, the hunger pains settling in, and you begin to question if you’ll ever see daylight again, I wouldn’t worry; just around the next corner there’s likely a Thai Experess or Edo Japan to tie you over. Though to make things easier I do recommend downloading the app Pathmap which, with your location turned on, will show you exactly where you are. It also has a search function if you’re looking for one of the 50 buildings or office towers, 20 parking garages, five subway stations, two major department stores, two major shopping centres, six major hotels, or the railway terminal.
Good luck.