St. Lawrence Market
St. Lawrence Market is a major
St. Lawrence Market was first established in the early 19th century, originating from a proclamation that established a designated area near King Street and New Street (later renamed Jarvis Street) for a public market in 1803. The first buildings erected for the market emerged in 1814, with the first permanent structures built in 1820. The first permanent market building was later replaced in 1831 with the first St. Lawrence Market North building. The market also served as one of four post offices in York prior to 1834.[1] The building was damaged after the Great Fire of Toronto of 1849, and was replaced with a new building in 1851. The market was expanded in the early 1900s, with portions of the former city hall of Toronto being integrated into a new building, opened as St. Lawrence Market South in 1902, and a new matching building erected to replace the north building in 1904. The north building was later replaced with a new building in 1968. In 2016, the north building was demolished to make way for a new building.
The market square space was used as the city hall of Toronto for most of the 19th century, occupying a temporary space at the original market space from 1834 to 1845. Prior to being renovated for market use, the building on St. Lawrence Market South was used as the municipal city hall from 1845 to 1899, before moving into the newly built city hall building in 1899.
Buildings
Until 2015 there were two buildings in the complex, with different purposes. Until it was demolished to make way for redevelopment,
History
By 1803, the population of
The original market was known as Market Square and people gathered there on Saturdays at the corner of King Street and New Street, (today's Jarvis St) stretching west to Church Street and south to Palace (today's Front St), with a creek running through the center from King south to the bay.[4] The plot set aside for the market was 5.5 acres (2.2 ha).[5] The market square was the centre of the city's social life where auctions took place and public punishments were carried out.[3] In the earliest days of the town, when slavery was still legal, this included auctions of black slaves.[6] Town bylaws prohibited the selling of butter, eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and vegetables between the hours of 6am and 4pm on Saturdays, except at the market.[6]
In the nineteenth century, Toronto had three public markets named after the wards within which they were located. St. Lawrence Market, founded in 1803, was the first,
The first St. Lawrence market building, a temporary shelter, 24 feet (7.3 m) by 36 feet (11 m) was built in 1814.[6] The first permanent structure was built in 1820. In 1823, the town's first public well was dug on the property.[6] In 1831, the wooden market building was torn down and a quadrangular brick building with arched entrances at the sides was built. The building's office space served as a temporary home to City Council until 1845.[9] This building was used until the 1849 Toronto Great Fire destroyed the northern side of the building and it was torn down.
After the fire, St. Lawrence Hall was built, along with a new market building between it and Front, the first to be known as St Lawrence Market. It was an arcade in a north–south orientation. To finance the new construction, the City of Toronto sold lots on the market block. In the 1850s, the railways arrived in Toronto, and rail lines were extended along Front Street to the market. These lines were relocated to the new Esplanade south of Front Street and a passenger station was erected.
The present St. Lawrence Market South building was built in 1845 as Toronto City Hall and was rebuilt in 1850.[3] In 1899, Toronto City Hall moved to a new building at Queen and Bay Street. Part of the old City Hall was incorporated into a new building in 1904. At the same time, the 1851 north market building was torn down and replaced with a new building similar to the new south building. A canopy was built between the north and south buildings and this was torn down in the 1950s. The north market building was replaced with a simple single floor building in 1968, and the south building was renovated in 1972. The north building was demolished in 2015.
The
St. Lawrence Market was named the world's best food market by
The St. Lawrence Market has historically been open from Tuesdays to Saturdays. The market was planning on opening Sundays as well, as part of a year long pilot project beginning on March 15, 2020.[14][15] However, this was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
See also
References
- ^ "Toronto's first Post Office - Historic Toronto".
- ^ Me
- ^ a b c Peppiatt, Liam. "Chapter 29: The Public Markets". Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
- ^ Hounsom 1970, p. 168.
- ^ Read, David Breakenridge. The Lieutenant-Governors of Upper Canada and Ontario 1792-1899. pp. 33–41.
- ^ a b c d Hounsom 1970, p. 169.
- ^ "Heritage Property Detail". City of Toronto. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Toronto's Farmers' Markets". Historic Toronto. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Toronto's First City Hall and The St.Lawence South Market". Lost Rivers. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Progress Update". March 1, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Mitanis, Marcus (September 17, 2015). "Touring the Archaeological Finds at St. Lawrence Market North". UrbanToronto. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ^ "St. Lawrence Market in Toronto named world's best food market by National Geographic". Yahoo! News. April 5, 2012.
- ^ Goldberg, Lina (February 24, 2013). "10 of the world's best fresh markets". CNN Travel. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
- ^ "St. Lawrence Market to open on Sundays, angering some vendors". Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ^ "St. Lawrence Market will open on Sundays". thestar.com. January 13, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
Further reading
- Hounsom, Eric Wilfrid (1970). Toronto in 1810. Toronto: Ryerson Press. ISBN 978-0770003111.
External links
- Official website
- St. Lawrence Market Complex - City of Toronto
- Toronto's Marvellous Markets, ca. 1970s, Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel