Connecting Toronto’s Past to its Future

This project’s murals artistically and symbolically depict Toronto’s rail heritage.

Colourful mural of people on a train, a worker building tracks, men high fiving, and faded people in the background.

“A Journey of Tableaux” mural by Victoria Berends, Roundhouse Park, 2023. Image by Brooklyn Zalik. Courtesy of Victoria Berends.

Colourful mural of the Toronto skyline with the words "Welcome to Toronto!" in bold yellow letters.

“Our City. Our Home” mural by Victoria Berends, Roundhouse Park, 2023. Image by Brooklyn Zalik. Courtesy of Victoria Berends.

Colourful mural of a girl looking out a train window with a black and white girl looking at her through the window reflection.

“Past Looks To Present, Present Gazes Ahead” mural by Victoria Berends, Roundhouse Park, 2023. Image by Brooklyn Zalik. Courtesy of Victoria Berends.

Colourful mural of a train going through a valley with colourful smoke coming out and a colourful sky/sunset.

“Phantom Journey” mural by Victoria Berends, Roundhouse Park, 2023. Image by Brooklyn Zalik. Courtesy of Victoria Berends.

Project Lead: Victoria Berends

Project Website

Date of Release: May 27, 2023

The murals of this project artistically and symbolically depict Toronto’s rail heritage and the experiences of people using the railway in Toronto in the past and present, focusing on how Toronto is connected to people and people to each other through the railway and trains.

These four murals represent the connection Toronto has to the railway. Each of the four designs ties into Toronto’s railway heritage, both past and present.

Mural 1. A Journey of Tableaux

The railway is crucial for connecting people and shaping the city’s identity. It has been part of significant cultural changes, celebrations, and everyday moments where people reflect while watching the landscape. This mural symbolizes the railway’s role in linking individuals, the city, and shared experiences among residents and visitors.

Mural 2. Our City. Our Home.

The city of Toronto and the railway have always lived side by side, growing and evolving together. As neighbourhoods flourished and welcomed new people and cultures, trains expanded their lines too. This mural celebrates the sense of wonder you can experience when entering the city on the rail line, watching all these communities and cultures coalesce into the vibrant city we love.

Mural 3. Past Looks To Present, Present Gazes Ahead

Since the first passenger train left the station in 1853, there have been countless journeys across the city of Toronto. Train travel has long been an opportunity for quiet reflection, allowing the click-clack of the locomotive to provide a meditative state of mind. This mural acknowledges our link to the past, reminding ourselves how similar our hopes and dreams are no matter how much time passes.

Mural 4. Phantom Journey

The history of the railway has passed down many tales of dispatchers alone in the dead of night being visited by ghost trains with lost souls, doomed to ride the rails for eternity. Many stories begin with a pitch-black sky giving way to a glint of blue light that grows larger. A sense of wonder and whimsy is forever tied to the railway as humans can never resist an opportunity for storytelling- and stories about the railway abound in our verbal history.

Additional Project Members:

Rupesh Vetha, Creative Director, Anderson DDB
David Migicovsky, Researcher, Anderson DDB
Karen Sinotte, Museum Contact, Board Member Toronto Railway Museum
Brooklyn Zalik, Communications and Development Lead, Toronto Railway Museum