Tuesday 28 August 2007

St. Lawrence Market

In 1803, Governor Peter Hunter issued a proclamation, following recommendations made as early as 1796, that all the land north of Front, west of Jarvis, south of King and east of Church Street in Toronto (then known as York) was to be designated officially as the "Market Block."

The City of Toronto was incorporated from the Town of York in 1834 and for the first eleven years, city council members met in temporary quarters in a market building which once stood on the south-west corner of King Street East and Jarvis Street. This brick structure, the second market building to occupy the site, was built in 1831 but burnt down during a great fire in 1849. It was replaced in 1850 by the St. Lawrence Hall which still stands today.

The St. Lawrence Market building was the site of Toronto's City Hall from 1845 to 1899.



Toronto City Hall in 1899. In 1899, Council offices were moved to the "New City Hall" on Queen Street. Renovations were made in 1899-1901, and the building was transformed into a farmer's market. The market is open all week, but Saturday is it's busiest day.




I don't often shop here as it's quite a distance from my home. But it's great for a day out enjoying lunch at one of the many restaurants and snack bars in the market, and some sightseeing.

14 comments:

  1. What a wonderful looking market and how nice that the building was not torn down...BUT Saved and used for something very practical and incrddibly useful!

    Guess What? I got this little package just a half hour ago....(My Mail comes pretty late in the day....) It is BEAUTIFUL, my dear, and I thank you so very much....I just LOVE IT! It sure is pretty the way it catches the light. Now I just have to figure out where to put it so that it will catch the light all the time....! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

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  2. I agree, farmers markets are so much fun!
    especially if they have real farmers at them..

    Your pics from the shower were great - what a handsome/beautiful couple!! The wedding will be beautiful

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  3. I wish we had such a market; we've finally got a break from the intense heat here, and it makes one big difference in everyone's attitude.

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  4. Tee hee!!!!

    Thanks me old fruit for the terwiffic comments on my blog, you are all as mad as me (which is good!)

    Bye for now!

    m

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  5. Shall I get some octupus? I'd have to look up recipes on the net, of course, and then how would I get my family to try it? But it would be fine to live in a city that offers such exotica.

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  6. Lip Smacking Goodness! Cool history, too. I wanna go back to Toronto! Will you meet me at this market when I do?

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  7. That looks like a fascinating market with a rich variety of food - for evry kind of taste and occasions.

    I love food markets - much more interesting than the huge chain stores.

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  8. Love the open air markets. There is so much to see. Great shots.
    I worked at a conference in Toronto one time and saw just a smitch of the City. What I saw I really liked and would love to go back sometime.

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  9. Aren't these covered market places nice! I have the chance to live a minute a way from a covered market, open six days a week.

    Annie: Octopus IS nice, can be prepared in so many ways! Hope you find some and that your family will enjoy it!

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  10. Thanks for a great bit of local history, we sometimes visit a place that many time we never concider its history.
    Love the Cheese and Sausage stalls, you would need a big stick to get me away from them :)

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  11. What a great idea to transform that historic spot into a Farmer's Market! I love it when old buildings can be renovated like that. I especially liked those colorful awnings in the first pic. :)

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  12. Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting on the mourning dove.

    They do make the noise with their wings when they take off as you suspected.

    They are aggressive to each other and also to other birds when food is short and they have it in their area or think they have. The other sign that looks like agressiveness is when the male puffs himself up and chases the smaller female around on the ground or on a wire.

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  13. Yummy! Those bangers look tasty, thanks for the history lesson!

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  14. The sausages look totally yummy. Time to heat up the grill.

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All comments welcome.... unless your name is Anonymous..