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When Toronto residents think of St. Lawrence, they think of “Market”. However, most aren’t aware that the original City Hall, main police station, jail, and municipal offices were all a part of what is now the active St. Lawrence Market’s south building built in 1850.
Most are also not aware that St. Lawrence’s neighborhood was derived from an enormous 1800’s landfill project intended to provide a promenade along the lakefront. They also don’t know that immediately to the north was the original Muddy York settlement.
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Then too, very few know that Toronto’s industrial hub, until the late 1940s, was the area which now borders Yonge, Parliament, and Front Streets, as well as the CN Railroad embankment, which declined greatly once industry moved to Toronto’s outer edges.
It wasn’t until 30 years later when Mayor David Crombie decided to pursue rejuvenating the area and transformed the former business hub into a thriving residential neighborhood in the 1970s. He acquired the urban expertise of Jane Jacobs and the designs and architectural genius of Toronto’s local accomplished developers to renovate and restore. It has now become a successful model for neighborhoods all across North America.
Today, the St. Lawrence Market real estate setting is a mix of condos, lofts, rentals, and non-profit and private housing, and it’s characterized with exteriors of red brick.
The infamous Market area provides Toronto residents with the very best fresh produce and it’s all within walking distance. Running east from Yonge Street is the Esplanade. It offers the center of dining and shopping with quaint cafés, fine restaurants and bars, specialty stores, and luxury upscale hotels.
For the sports-minded residents, the St. Lawrence area offers much including the David Crombie Park just off the Esplanade, the St. Lawrence Community Recreation Centre, and the themed exhibitions of the history and culture of Toronto, located on the second floor of the Market in the old Council Room and recognized as the Market Gallery.
