St. Lawrence Market Gallery
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The St. Lawrence Market South building is a major public market building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southwest corner of Front and Lower Jarvis Streets. Along with the
St. Lawrence Market North St. Lawrence Market North is a public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It hosts a variety of markets, including a farmers' market, an antique market and Christmas trees daily from mid-Nov. to Dec. 24. The site has been a farmer's market since ...
and St. Lawrence Hall, it comprises the
St. Lawrence Market St. Lawrence Market is a major public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Front Street East and Jarvis Street in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. The public market is made up of two sites adjacent to one an ...
complex. The current building was opened in 1902, incorporating the 1845 Toronto City Hall building into the structure. The building was restored during the 1970s.


Description

The building has two main floors. The upper floor is the primary space and it extends through the full length of the building. It is one large open space with a large overhanging roof structure, and windows on each side. The lower level is partly underground, opening to the outdoors on the south end of the building. The lower floor does not extend the full length of the building. The market is located on the edge of the former lake shore, and the elevation drops over between the north and south ends. The south end of the lower floor opens to ground level at The Esplanade street. Surrounding the building along the east, west and south sides is a mezzanine, where seating and tables are available. On the upper floor, over 50 vendors sell fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses daily, while the lower floor has a portion that is non-food. Each vendor has an allotted stall space and there are several aisles. Several stalls sell sandwiches, such as the staple back bacon sandwich, and beverages such as coffee and tea. There are also craft and art vendors and kitchen supplies. At the north end is a remnant of the old City Hall, providing two small upper floors. It houses the Market Gallery, operated by the City of Toronto, on the second floor and a cooking school (The Market Kitchen) on the mezzanine floor. Opened in 1979, the Market Gallery offers changing exhibitions dedicated to Toronto's history, art and culture, and programs for school and community groups. The gallery space was formerly the 19th century city council chamber from 1845 to 1899. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the South Market building, provided by
Wireless Toronto Wireless Toronto is a volunteer not-for-profit community wireless network in Toronto. Wireless Toronto began in 2005 with the goal of setting up no-cost public wireless Internet access around the Greater Toronto Area and exploring ways to use Wi ...
. The North Market, temporarily located south of the South Market due to the construction of a new building, houses a farmers' market each Saturday featuring 43 vendors inside the building and numerous cart vendors outside of the building, and an antiques market on Sundays.


History

The building was once home to Toronto's first permanent
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
and jailhouse from 1845 to 1899. It was designed by English immigrant architect
Henry Bowyer Lane Henry Bowyer Joseph Lane (1817–1878) was an English architect who worked in Toronto from . Lane was born to Henry Bower Lane, a Royal Artillery Captain and Elizabeth Lacey in 1817 and moved to Devon, England after 1819. Lane's education inc ...
, who also designed Little Trinity Church in 1843,
Holy Trinity Church Holy Trinity Church may refer to: Albania * Holy Trinity Church (Berat), Berat County * Holy Trinity Church, Lavdar, Opar, Korçë County Armenia * Holy Trinity Church, Yerevan Australia * Garrison Church, Sydney, South Wales, also known as ''H ...
in 1847, and expansion of Osgoode Hall in 1844. Lane's design was chosen over those submitted by William Thomas, John Tully and
John George Howard John George Howard (born John Corby; July 27, 1803 – February 3, 1890) was the official surveyor and civil engineer for the government of Toronto in Upper Canada and later Canada. He was also the first professional architect in Toronto. He d ...
. Lane incorporated into his design contrasting red brick and white stone in the
Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...
tradition. A “cupola” was built on the top front side of the building with a clock. Two-storey wings extended on either side of a three-story center block and housed the offices of city staff and shops on the ground floor. The centre block contained the Council Chambers, Toronto Police Station # 1 and a jail in the basement. It was built at a cost of $52,000. At the time, the south end of the building was on the lake front. The "New Market House" was used as Toronto City Hall from 1845-1899. The yellow brick outline of the center part of that building can still be seen today in the front facade of the current building. The City Hall was renovated in 1851 by William Thomas, with new shops in the wings, keystones in the arched windows and improvements to the police station and jail cells (which were reportedly subject to flooding). More improvements were made between 1868 and 1872 by Henry Langley, who designed many churches and public buildings including the Metropolitan United Church. Railway lines were located on infill as the shoreline moved further south of the building. In 1899, the City of Toronto decided to vacate the facility and move to a new city hall located on Queen Street West and Bay Street designed by
E. J. Lennox Edward James Lennox (September 12, 1854 – April 15, 1933) was a Toronto-based architect who designed several of the city's most notable landmarks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including Old City Hall and Casa Loma. He ...
. A Market Commission recommended the old city hall be renovated and turned into a large marketplace.
John William Siddall John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
was the selected architect for this project. Siddall decided to demolish the cupola, the pediment, and the side wings. The new steel truss roof was proposed to cover the entire building structure, allowing more open space with a high ceiling and more natural light. The roof is hybrid of arch roof with clerestory. The North Market was also rebuilt at this time and had a similar design to the current South building with late Victorian architecture design. The two buildings were joined with a glass canopy over Front Street. The South building opened in 1902 and the new North building opened in 1904. In 1971, a consultant recommended the market be demolished. Time and Place, a citizens' group, proposed a renovation and that the former Council Chamber be converted into a "City display space." The renovations lasted from 1974 to 1978 and included the opening up of the basement for retail use, a new floor for the main level, installation of a freight elevator and new doors to accommodate increased pedestrian traffic. The renovated Council Chambers opened as the Market Gallery, an exhibition facility to showcase the City's extensive archival and art collections, on March 7, 1979.


In literature

The St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood is featured extensively in the novel ''Old City Hall'', by
Robert Rotenberg Robert Rotenberg (born April 21, 1953) is a Canadian criminal defence lawyer and writer, based in Toronto. He has worked as a criminal defence lawyer from the 1990s. As of April, 2019 he practices as part of the association of Rotenberg Shidlowsk ...
.


See also

* Kensington Market *
St. Patrick's Market St. Patrick's Market is one of three public markets created in Toronto in the 19th century along with St. Lawrence Market and St. Andrew's Market. The current structure on the lot was built in 1912 and was designated a heritage site by the City ...
* St. Andrew's Market and Playground * West Don Lands * Ontario Food Terminal


References


External links

*
Market Gallery
- City of Toronto {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Lawrence Market Food markets in Canada Art museums and galleries in Ontario Museums in Toronto Municipal buildings in Toronto