St. Lawrence Market South
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The St. Lawrence Market South building is a major public
market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...
building in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. 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 St. Lawrence Hall is a meeting hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the corner of King Street East and Jarvis Street. It was created to be Toronto's public meeting hall home to public gatherings, concerts, and exhibitions. Its main featur ...
, 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 a ...
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 Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
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 North Market is a food hall and public market in Columbus, Ohio. The Downtown Columbus market was established in 1876, and was the second of four founded in Columbus. The market is managed by the non-profit North Market Development Authority (ND ...
, temporarily located south of the South Market due to the construction of a new building, houses a
farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
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 Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
'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 A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
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 in 1847, and expansion of
Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...
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 The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...
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 Metropolitan United Church is a historic Neo-Gothic style church in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest and most prominent churches of the United Church of Canada. It is located at 56 Queen Street East, between Bond and ...
. 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 Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Stree ...
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 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 Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...
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.


See also

*
Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canad ...
*
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 The West Don Lands are the site of a neighbourhood under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is bordered by the Don River (Toronto), Don River, King Street, Toronto, Ontario, King Street, Parliament Street and the rail line adjac ...
*
Ontario Food Terminal The Ontario Food Terminal is the main produce distribution centre for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 165 The Queensway at Park Lawn Road, north of the Gardiner Expressway, and west of the Humber River. The U-shaped building occupies o ...


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