Fremantle Markets, Heritage marketplace in Fremantle, Australia.
Fremantle Markets is a heritage-listed market building in the heart of Fremantle, Western Australia, built in the Federation architectural style. The front facade features ornate stone arches and limestone walls, while inside, a high iron roof covers a wide hall divided into open stalls and specialty shops along the edges.
Designed by Joseph Herbert Eales and Charles Oldham in the Federation Romanesque style, the foundation stone was laid by Premier Sir John Forrest on 6 November 1897. Construction ran from 1898 to 1902 at a cost of £8,268. It served as a wholesale produce market until the 1950s, then as a packing centre until the early 1970s, and reopened on 31 October 1975 after restoration.
The name comes from the Fremantle district, not from the harbour itself. The market is known locally as "a Fremantle institution". Inside the historic Hall, over 150 stalls run by craftspeople, fashion designers and merchants occupy the original building, while fresh food producers and growers trade in The Yard.
The market is open on several days of the week, including many public holidays, so it fits easily into most travel plans. The main hall is on one level and easy to walk through, making it straightforward to find your way around.
The interior roof is carried by large jarrah columns, a timber cut from trees native to a narrow coastal belt of Western Australia. In the 1800s jarrah was exported as far as London for street paving. The columns are easy to walk past, yet they survive from the original 1898–1902 construction.
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