Summary
The Canadian National Railway built St. Clair Avenue Station in 1932 as a replacement of the much older Davenport Station located a half kilometre to the south. The replacement came about as part of a project to lift the tracks from Davenport Road to Rogers Road above the grade of the city streets. The new station was located just north of the new St. Clair Avenue underpass on the east side of the tracks. It was a relatively simple rectangular building with brick walls and a hipped roof. It was technically two stories tall because of the steep embankment the building was situated on, with the second floor providing access to track level. In addition to CN service, the Ontario Northland Railway’s Northland train also stopped there until the late 1960’s or early 1970’s.
St. Clair Avenue saw a total of eight trains per day by 1945, increasing to thirteen trains per day by 1953 as passenger ridership reached its peak in the postwar era. Increased use of automobiles and air travel contributed to a steep decline in ridership over the following two decades. By 1974 service to St. Clair Avenue had decreased to six trains per day. A brief increase in service occurred in 1976 upon the inaugural run of the Northlander, which replaced the earlier Northland service. The rest of the trains stopping at St. Clair Avenue were assumed by VIA Rail in 1977, including both the commuter and transcontinental trains that stopped there. Due to budget cuts the commuter service was assumed by GO Transit in 1982, though it would no longer stop at St. Clair Avenue. The station finally closed to passengers in 1985.
The building’s fate quickly became the concern of local community members. Initially falling victim to graffiti and the occasional break-in, the structure was deemed worthy of preservation and designated under the Heritage Railway Station Protection Act in 1994. The Upper Canada Railway Society, a rail enthusiast organization based in the Toronto area, would use the lower floor of the station as archival storage space. While the station’s future appeared to be bright, it was cut short by an arsonist who set the structure ablaze on February 19th, 1997. The station was damaged beyond repair and the remainder was demolished soon afterward.
St. Clair Station under construction in 1931. On the right is the old railway line, while the bridge the photographer is on would soon carry the new railway line. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
The construction of St. Clair Avenue Station is nearly complete in this photo from 1931. Its simplistic design is characteristic of the Depression era. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
A trackside view of St. Clair station, providing a much better view of its architecture. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
The station now bears quite a bit more Canadian National signage and branding, though little else has changed by the time this photo was taken in the 1950’s. Courtesy of the Al Paterson Collection 
An aerial photo of St Clair station in 1956. Next to the realigned mainline, you can see the original path of the mainline just to the right. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
A southeasterly view of St. Clair Avenue station in 1957, showing a pair of baggage carts under the canopy. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
A 1980’s photo of St. Clair station, now with the semaphores removed and likely serving little to no trains. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.
Condensed Station Info:
| Location: | Served By: | Current State: | Date Built: | Date Demolished: |
| St. Clair Avenue and Caledonia Road | Canadian National (1932 – 1977) VIA Rail (1977 – 1985) | Demolished | 1932 | 1997 |