St. Lawrence Market is the public market complex on Front Street East in Toronto. Lieutenant Governor Peter Hunter set the land aside as a market block in 1803, which makes it the oldest market site in the city. The building south of Front Street grew from Toronto’s first permanent city hall, opened in 1845, and a new North Market building on the north side opened in 2025.
Key dates at a glance
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1803 | Peter Hunter sets aside the market block | Canadian Encyclopedia; Heritage Toronto |
| 1831 | First permanent market building, which also housed the town hall | Canadian Encyclopedia |
| 1844 to 1845 | Plans chosen, then city hall with market house built on Front Street | Dictionary of Canadian Biography; City of Toronto |
| 1849 | Great Fire destroys the 1831 building | Canadian Encyclopedia |
| 1850 | St. Lawrence Hall built by the City | Canada’s Historic Places |
| 1899 | Council leaves for the new city hall; market rebuilt around then | City of Toronto; Canadian Encyclopedia |
| 1968 | North Market replaced | Heritage Toronto |
| 1971 | Public opposition to demolition of the South Market | Canadian Encyclopedia; Heritage Toronto |
| 1979 | Market Gallery created in the old council chamber | City of Toronto |
| 2025 | New North Market building opens | City of Toronto |
The market block of 1803
The market began with a decision about land rather than a building. Both the Canadian Encyclopedia and Heritage Toronto credit Lieutenant Governor Peter Hunter with establishing a public market on the site in 1803. Heritage Toronto adds that Chief Wabakinine of the Mississaugas sold salmon there in the early years, and that people from outside the town stayed in the inns and taverns along Yonge and King Streets when they came to trade.
Sources give different accounts of the first buildings. Heritage Toronto describes the first market building, identifiable by its yellow brick, as housing council chambers. The Canadian Encyclopedia instead names 1831 as the date of the first permanent market building, located between King and Front Streets on the site of today’s North Market and St. Lawrence Hall, and says it also housed the town hall. This page follows the Canadian Encyclopedia for the 1831 date and notes the difference.
A city hall that doubled as a market house
The south side of Front Street took on its present role in the 1840s. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography records that in 1844 the plans of architect Henry Bowyer Lane were chosen for a market house and city hall, in the same year as his commission for additions to Osgoode Hall. The City of Toronto states that the first City Hall stood on Front Street East from 1845 to 1899. Heritage Toronto describes it as a combined city hall, police station, and market building, and says the South Market later held council chambers, a jail, government offices, and shops.
The biography gives no completion date and does not name St. Lawrence Market, so the link between Lane’s 1844 design and the market rests on the dates and location given by the City. For the later story of city government, see the separate account of Old City Hall, where council moved in 1899.
The fire of 1849 and St. Lawrence Hall
The Canadian Encyclopedia states that the Great Fire of 1849 destroyed the 1831 market building, and that it was replaced by St. Lawrence Hall and a new market building behind it. Canada’s Historic Places records that the City built St. Lawrence Hall in 1850, designed by William Thomas in the Italianate style. It had commercial space on the ground floor, offices on the second, and a 1,000-seat assembly room on the third. The register adds that several abolitionist meetings were held there during the Underground Railroad era, a theme covered further in the article on Black history in Toronto.
The hall became a National Historic Site of Canada on October 23, 1967. The designation covers the hall itself, not the market behind it, although the hall’s south side abuts the market buildings. Some secondary sources give a later date for the hall; the register’s 1850 is used here.
Siddall’s Shed and the South Market
When the civic offices moved out in 1899, the old building was reworked. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, the cupola, pediment, and side wings were removed in 1898 to 1899, and a large roof was placed over the whole structure, producing a larger and more efficient market. It became known as “Siddall’s Shed” after its architect, John William Siddall. The City’s Market Gallery page gives a different date for the work, stating that the south market was built around the old council chamber in 1902. Neither source explains the gap, so the exact span of the rebuilding remains unconfirmed.
One room survived from the City Hall. The council chamber was the only room of the 19th-century City Hall saved from demolition, and its brick walls and fan windows were enclosed by the new building, according to the City.
The Market Gallery
The City reports that the second floor of the market was rediscovered during renovations in the 1970s, and that Council decided to turn it into a display space. The Market Gallery was established in 1979 in the old council chamber, and since 1980 it has presented more than 130 exhibitions on Toronto’s art, culture, and history. The City notes that the chamber is the room where the municipal art collection was first begun.
The 1968 North Market and the fight over the south building
Heritage Toronto records that the North Market, on the north side of Front Street, was demolished in 1968 and replaced. In 1971 citizens petitioned to save the South Market from demolition, and they succeeded. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes the same year differently: angry citizens shouted down city planners at a public meeting after planners proposed demolishing the market. The two descriptions are compatible, since each records public resistance in 1971.
The 1968 North Market was in turn replaced. The City says the building was underused before its redevelopment, that the first Saturday Farmers’ Market in the new North Market took place on April 5, 2025, and that a grand opening event followed on May 10, 2025. Heritage Toronto adds that the provincial courts that had sat at Old City Hall finished moving into the new North Market building in spring 2025. Visitors who want current details on stalls, events, or access should use the City’s St. Lawrence Market page, since such details change.
Frequently asked questions
When did St. Lawrence Market start?
The market site dates from 1803, when Lieutenant Governor Peter Hunter set aside the land. The first permanent market building is dated 1831 by the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Was Toronto’s first city hall at St. Lawrence Market?
Yes, in two senses. The Canadian Encyclopedia says the 1831 market building also housed the town hall, and the City of Toronto states that the first City Hall stood on Front Street East from 1845 to 1899. Council then moved to what is now Old City Hall.
Is St. Lawrence Hall part of the market?
It is a separate National Historic Site, designated in 1967, built by the City in 1850 beside the market. Its south side abuts the market buildings.
What is the Market Gallery?
It is the City of Toronto’s gallery in the former council chamber of the 1845 City Hall, established in 1979.
Related reading
- Summary table of six historic Toronto buildings
- Old City Hall, where council moved in 1899
- Black history and the Underground Railroad in Toronto
- How heritage designation protects old buildings
- How Toronto’s districts grew
Sources
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Toronto Feature: St Lawrence Market”
- Heritage Toronto, St. Lawrence Market history tour page
- City of Toronto, Market Gallery and St. Lawrence Market pages
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography, entry for Henry Bowyer Joseph Lane
- Canada’s Historic Places: St. Lawrence Hall National Historic Site of Canada
Last verified: October 2026
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). St. Lawrence Market: From the 1803 Market Block to 2025. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/st-lawrence-market-history
MLA: “St. Lawrence Market: From the 1803 Market Block to 2025.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/st-lawrence-market-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “St. Lawrence Market: From the 1803 Market Block to 2025.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/st-lawrence-market-history.
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