St. Lawrence Market South, Public market in downtown Toronto, Canada
St. Lawrence Market South is a two-storey market building in downtown Toronto housing more than fifty stalls selling fresh food, meat, cheese, and prepared meals. Red brick walls surround the interior, where aisles between vendor tables run through both floors.
Henry Bowyer Lane designed this brick building in 1845 as city hall for the then-small city of Toronto. Municipal government left by the end of the 19th century and it became a full market in 1902.
The name refers to Lawrence Street, named after an 18th-century Loyalist whose family owned land here. The main floor room shows wooden beams and high ceilings, while vendors arrange their goods on long tables and chat with regular customers.
The building opens Tuesday through Friday from 9 in the morning, Saturday early at 7, and Sunday a bit later at 10. Both levels are reachable by stairs and an elevator, and vendors often speak English plus other languages.
The arched roof combines arches with clerestory windows so daylight falls across the entire interior. The second floor still shows woodwork and window frames from when the building housed government rooms.
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