A BRIEF HISTORY OF FOOD MARKETS IN TORONTO
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You may already be familiar with one of Toronto’s prized markets, but what many Torontonians don’t know is that it was once part of a series of public markets found in the city. Together, the St. Lawrence Market, St. Patrick’s Market and St. Andrew’s Market were created to meet a growing public demand during the early 1800’s.

urbantoronto.ca St Patricks market new

urbantoronto.ca St Patricks market old
(urbantoronto.ca)

The building that now stands at 238 Queen Street West was once the St. Patrick Food Market. Built in 1854, the building was chosen to become a public market for St. Patrick’s Ward in 1836 when D’Arcy Boulton donated the property to the city with the condition that it was to be forever used as a public market.

The building was destroyed by a fire and a single story structure, which we see today, was built in 1912. Out of the ruins, the St. Patrick Market continued to uphold the tradition of being a food market as it hosted a variety of mini food markets featuring local fare similar to that of the St. Lawrence Market. Designated a heritage site by the City of Toronto in 1975, today the St. Patrick’s Market, renamed Queen Street Live Fresh Food Market, hosts a smaller variety of food offerings while still serving as a local community attraction.

St. Lawrence Market of the West
(Waterworks Building 1932, City of Toronto archives)

Nearly 200 years ago, the 505 Richmond block was transformed to support an open air market called the St. Andrew’s Market until a permanent structure was built in 1850. Although the original building was destroyed in a fire, it was quickly rebuilt to house a library, police station, community hall and another market. The building also served as an area for the community to gather as it was one of the only food markets that was connected to a park of the same name. This building was demolished in the early 1930’s and the current Waterworks building was constructed on the site.

Food-Hall-SM
(Waterworks Food Hall)

With direct access to the condos at Waterworks, the future Food Hall will feature a variety of artisan food vendors and restaurants with access to outdoor patios and doors to the adjacent St. Andrew’s Playground. The Waterworks Food Hall will pay homage to the city’s historical food hall markets of the past, present and future and will become the heart of the King West Neighborhood.