St. Lawrence Market North

St. Lawrence Market North
View of 1968 St. Lawrence Market North Building from south-east
General information
Address	92 Front Street East
Town or city	Toronto
Country	Canada
Coordinates	43°38′59″N 79°22′19″W / 43.64972°N 79.37194°W / 43.64972; -79.37194Coordinates: 43°38′59″N 79°22′19″W / 43.64972°N 79.37194°W / 43.64972; -79.37194
Current tenants	vendors
Completed	1968
Demolished	demolition was slated for late 2015
Owner	City of Toronto
Technical details
Floor count	1
Floor area	10,000 square feet (930 m2)
References

St. Lawrence Market North Temporary Site
View of temporary site of farmer's market.
General information
Type	pre-fabricated fabric tent
Address	125 The Esplanade
Town or city	Toronto
Country	Canada
Current tenants	vendors
Construction started	late 2014
Completed	early summer 2015
Inaugurated	July 11, 2015
Destroyed	after completion of North Building
Owner	City of Toronto
Technical details
Floor count	1
References

Market Lane Park
Coordinates	43°38′59″N 79°22′20.5″W / 43.64972°N 79.372361°W / 43.64972; -79.372361
Created	1967
Operated by	Toronto Parks

St. Lawrence Market North is a public market building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It hosts a variety of markets, including a farmer's market, an antique market and Christmas trees daily from mid-Nov. to Dec. 24. The site has been the site of a farmer's market since 1803. Several buildings have been built on the site, the most recent in 1968. It is in the process of being replaced with a new structure. The St. Lawrence Market combines the North building, the St. Lawrence Hall and the St. Lawrence Market South building.

The building has been demolished and re-built many times, and the address has been host to many architectural competitions.

A market has operated at King St. and Jarvis St. since the area was designated the "Market Block" by Governor Hunter in 1803. The first permanent farmers' market building was built on the south side of King Street at Jarvis Street shortly after. It was enclosed in 1820 and replaced by a brick structure in 1831. This new building extended from King to Front and housed an assembly hall on the upper level. City Council met in this assembly hall from 1834 to 1845. It was damaged in the 1849 great fire along with much of the adjacent area (but not the City Hall.)

A new building was built in 1851 abutting the new St. Lawrence Hall on King Street but with its main entrance facing Front Street. This building lasted until 1904 when it was demolished by order of the Market Commission and replaced by a building designed to match the recently completed South building. A canopy ran over Front Street connecting the north and south markets until it was removed in 1954.

The latest incarnation of the north market was built in 1968. The Farmers' Market, the largest in Toronto, is held on Saturdays starting at 5 am; the Sunday Antique Market, open every Sunday from 5 am to 5 pm; and the Christmas trees and holiday greens offered daily from mid-November to December 24.

In the early 2000s, the City of Toronto did a review of the Market's operations and determined that the North building would have to be replaced. The City held an architectural competition for a new building to be used for the same purposes as the old one. On June 7, 2010, then-Mayor David Miller announced the winners of the design competition for a building to replace the existing North Market. The winning design was by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in a joint venture with Adamson Associates.Richard Rogers of the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners architectural firm is also responsible for Paris' Centre Georges Pompidou (also known as the Pompidou Centre). The new building will be four stories tall and will feature an arcade and will be a complex of three buildings. The new building includes office space which will be used for municipal courts and a 250-space parking garage underground.