St. Lawrence Market facts for kids
The St. Lawrence Market is a famous public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It's located in the St. Lawrence neighborhood of downtown Toronto, near Front Street East and Jarvis Street. This big market has two main parts: St. Lawrence Market North and St. Lawrence Market South. The South building is on Front Street East, and the North building is across the street.
The market started a long time ago, in the early 1800s. In 1803, an area was set aside for a public market. The first market buildings appeared in 1814, and stronger, permanent ones were built in 1820. Over the years, these buildings were replaced and expanded many times. For a while, the market area even served as Toronto's city hall! Today, it's a busy place where people can buy food and other goods.
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Exploring the Market Buildings
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The St. Lawrence Market complex has two main buildings, each with a different purpose.
St. Lawrence Market South
The St. Lawrence Market South building is on the south side of Front Street. It's open from Tuesday to Saturday. Inside, you'll find many food stalls and restaurants. It's a great place to buy fresh produce, meats, cheeses, and baked goods. This building was first built in 1845. It has been rebuilt twice, but it still includes a part of the original building. That part was once used as Toronto's City Hall from 1845 to 1899.
St. Lawrence Market North
The St. Lawrence Market North building is on the north side of Front Street. For many years, this building hosted weekly farmer's markets and antique markets. A market has been held on this spot since 1803! The most recent North building was built in 1968. However, it was taken down in 2015 to make way for a brand new building. While the new North building is being built, its market activities have moved to a temporary spot south of the South building. The new North building will be four stories tall and will also include courtrooms and underground parking.
A Look Back at History
The St. Lawrence Market has a very long and interesting history.
How the Market Started
By 1803, the town of York, Upper Canada (which is now Toronto) had grown quite a bit. People needed a place to buy and sell goods. So, the Lieutenant Governor (a leader of the government) named Peter Hunter decided to create a weekly market day. He set aside a special area for it. This area was known as Market Square. People would gather there on Saturdays to sell and buy things like cattle, sheep, poultry, and other foods.
Early Market Buildings
The first simple shelter for the market was built in 1814. Then, a more permanent building was put up in 1820. In 1831, that wooden building was replaced with a brick one. This brick building even served as a temporary home for the City Council (the local government) until 1845. Sadly, a big fire in Toronto in 1849 damaged this building, and it had to be torn down.
After the fire, a new market building was constructed in 1851. This was the first building to be called St. Lawrence Market. In the 1850s, trains started coming to Toronto. Train tracks were even built along Front Street to reach the market.
Market and City Hall
The building that is now St. Lawrence Market South was originally built in 1845 to be Toronto's City Hall. It was rebuilt in 1850. In 1899, Toronto's City Hall moved to a new building at Queen and Bay Street. Parts of the old City Hall building were then used to create the new market building in 1904. At the same time, the North market building from 1851 was also replaced with a new one that looked similar to the South building.
The North market building was replaced again in 1968 with a simpler, single-floor building. The South building was updated in 1972. The 1968 North building was torn down in 2015 to make way for the new building that is currently under construction. This new building is expected to be ready by spring 2022.
A World-Famous Market
In April 2012, the St. Lawrence Market was named the world's best food market by National Geographic magazine! This shows how special and important the market is. The market usually opens from Tuesdays to Saturdays. There were plans to open on Sundays too, but this was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
