This post offers supplementary material for an article I recently wrote for Torontoist, which you should read before diving into this piece.
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| St. Lawrence Market, north market (1850-1904), Front St. E., north side, between Market & Jarvis Sts.; interior, main corridor, looking north, before alterations of 1898. Toronto Public Library. Click on image for larger version. |
The construction of the 1904 incarnation of the north market was anything but a smooth process. Mind you, if you changed the few specific details, the following
Star editorial could apply to many projects which go off the rails.
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| Toronto Star, September 19, 1904. |
A few weeks later, the Globe offered further details on what was going wrong.
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| Globe, October 4, 1904. |
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| Looking north along Jarvis Street. The canopy connecting both sides of the market, installed with the new 1904 north market building, is visible. Photo taken October 26, 1904. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 376, File 4, Item 93. Click on image for larger version. |
From the 1904 incarnation, we move on to the soon-to-be-demolished 1968 version of the north market.
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| Plaque on north wall. |
The plaque installed to mark the official opening of the north side in February 1969. This would be among the last ceremonial markers to mention Toronto's Board of Control, which met for the last time later than year. Elected by the city at large, it was replaced by an executive committee chosen from incoming councillors. The 1969 incarnation included one former mayor (
Lamport), one future interim mayor (Beavis), one unsuccessful candidate in that year's mayoral race (
Campbell), and one who never ran for mayor (
Marks).
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| Plaque on north wall. |
The neighbouring plaque honours the establishment of St. Lawrence Market in 1803.
The shell of the snack bar looks a little worse for wear. I'll admit that I never ate there (the temptations of Buster's, Uno Mustachio, and Yianni's usually fill my tummy on Saturday trips), but it's nice to see that
a positive, legit-looking review was left on Yelp.
Upon closer inspection, you may require wading boots to explore the snack bar's remains.
On the main floor, a painted tribute to Buskerfest remains, reflecting the event's previous connection to the St. Lawrence neighbourhood,
Adieu St. Lawrence Market North Building (1968-2015). From a architectural standpoint, you were the dullest-looking of the structures which have stood on this site, And, to be honest, I'm enjoying the brightness of the temporary farmers tent more than your dingy interior. But you served your purpose, providing a destination for food shoppers on Saturdays and antique hunters on Sundays,
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