St. Lawrence Market North

St. Lawrence Market North
View of 1968 St. Lawrence Market North Building from south-east
General information
Address	92 Front Street East
Town or city	Toronto
Country	Canada
Coordinates	43°38′59″N 79°22′19″W / 43.64972°N 79.37194°W / 43.64972; -79.37194Coordinates: 43°38′59″N 79°22′19″W / 43.64972°N 79.37194°W / 43.64972; -79.37194
Current tenants	vendors
Completed	1968
Demolished	demolition was slated for late 2015
Owner	City of Toronto
Technical details
Floor count	1
Floor area	10,000 square feet (930 m²)
References
^[1]^[2]

St. Lawrence Market North is a public market building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It hosts a variety of markets, including a farmer's market, an antique market and Christmas trees daily from mid-Nov. to Dec. 24th. The site has been the site of a farmer's market since 1803. Several buildings have been built on the site, the most recent in 1968. It is in the process of being replaced with a new structure. The St. Lawrence Market combines the North building, the St. Lawrence Hall and the St. Lawrence Market South building.

History

The building has been demolished and re-built many times, and the address has been host to many architectural competitions.

A market has operated at King St. and Jarvis St. since the area was designated the "Market Block" by Governor Hunter in 1803. The first permanent farmers' market building was built on the south side of King Street at Jarvis Street shortly after. It was enclosed in 1820 and replaced by a brick structure in 1831. This new building extended from King to Front and housed an assembly hall on the upper level. City Council met in this assembly hall from 1834 to 1845. It was destroyed by fire in 1849 along with much of the city (but not the City Hall.)

A new building was built in 1851 abutting the new St. Lawrence Hall on King Street but with its main entrance facing Front Street. This building lasted until 1904, when it was demolished by order of the Market Commission and replaced by a building designed to match the recently completed South building. A canopy ran over Front Street connecting the north and south markets until it was removed in 1954.

The latest incarnation of the north market was built in 1968. Today the North Market is different things on different days, but its principal claims to glory are associated with the colourful Farmers' Market, the largest in Toronto, that takes place on Saturdays starting at 5 am and is truly a local institution for Torontonians; the Sunday Antique Market, open every Sunday from 5 am to 5 pm; and the Christmas trees and holiday greens offered daily from mid-November to December 24th.^[3]

On June 7, 2010, then-Mayor David Miller announced the winners of the design competition for a building to replace the existing North Market. The new building is expected to open in 2016. During the construction of the new building, the Saturday and Sunday North Market vendors will be selling from a location one block south on the Esplanade.^[4]

1831 building
1851 building, as it looked circa 1890
View of interior of 1850 St. Lawrence Market building as it appeared in 1891.
View of St. Lawrence Market North building and Market Lane Park from north.

Temporary site

St. Lawrence Market North Temporary Site
View of temporary site of farmer's market.
General information
Type	pre-fabricated fabric tent
Address	125 The Esplanade
Town or city	Toronto
Country	Canada
Current tenants	vendors
Construction started	late 2014
Completed	early summer 2015
Inaugurated	July 11, 2015
Destroyed	after completion of North Building
Owner	City of Toronto
Technical details
Floor count	1
References
^[5]^[6]

The vendors have vacated the site in June 2015 to allow for demolition and re-development of a new market structure. The temporary market is located in a single storey pre-fabricated fabric structure on the parking lot south of the South Market Building at 125 The Esplanade^[7] opened on July 11, 2015.^[8] The temporary site will be used for 2-3 years pending the completion of the permanent structure on Front Street.^[9]

Expansion

The City of Toronto held an architectural competition ^[10] for a new building to be used for the same purposes as the old one. The winning design was by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in a joint venture with Adamson Associates Architects.^[11] The current building was slated to be demolished late 2010, but has yet to happen as of June 2013, due to continuing changes to the new design. ^[12]

Richard Rogers of the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners architectural firm is also responsible for Paris' Centre Georges Pompidou (also known as the Pompidou Centre).

The building is expected to be completed and in use by 2016. All current markets will be held, for the time being, at 125 The Esplanade.

The new building will be four stories tall and will feature a glass atrium and will be a complex of three buildings.^[13]

Market Lane Park

Market Lane Park

Coordinates	43°38′59″N 79°22′20.5″W / 43.64972°N 79.372361°W / 43.64972; -79.372361
Created	1967
Operated by	Toronto Parks

Market Lane Park is located on the west side of the North Market Building and St. Lawrence Hall. With the closure of Market Street between King and Front Streets, under City of Toronto By-laws 291-67^[14] and 40-70,^[15] the area was converted to pedestrian use only. Additional landscaping features like fountains, trees, flower beds and sculptures have been added. Market Square condominium buildings were constructed along the westerly boundary in the early 1980s.^[16]

References

External links

Media related to St. Lawrence Market North at Wikimedia Commons

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