St. Lawrence Market Tour, Toronto, ON

I went on a tour of St. Lawrence Market this afternoon conducted by Richard of Muddy York Walking Tours.

St. Lawrence Market was home to Toronto's first permanent city hall and jail house from 1845 to 1899. Today there are now many many vendors that sell meats, veggies, cheese, etc.

Here's the south market ...

Here's the north market (it's only open on Saturdays) ...

We spent most of our time in the south market.

It's really busy on Saturdays ...

The tour started in the galley on the second floor. Here's the view of vendors from there ...

Richard shared his knowledge with us in what used to be the mayor's chambers ...

Here's a painting of how Toronto was in the early/mid 1800s. The water met the edge of the building and ships would sail in. The red square is where the market is/was. The green circle is where the insane asylum is/was ... that's in my 'hood. It's now more politically correct and called the Centre for Mental Health and Addictions.

Looking south, the water has since been pushed back and is a good distance away.

We stopped by lots of shops including a mustard shop that has been there for more than 50 years!

Got a craving for exotic meat such as kangaroo, camel and ostrich?

I'll pass, thanx!

How about a variety of salts?

Who knew there were 50 varieties of rice?

Back then, men were chained to this wall as punishment for their crimes. At that time, this was an exterior wall and the water lapped at their toes.

The women's prison was within the doorway behind Richard (they weren't chained to a wall). Single women weren't allowed out on their own after 9:00pm. If caught, they were jailed here. In addition, if a woman wasn't married by the time she was 24, chances were good she was tossed in this jail too.

This is the south of the building that used to meet the shoreline. Now it's enclosed in a bigger building.

Very interesting tour. I've been going to the Market for 20+ years and there was so much I didn't know. If you are looking to learn more about old Toronto, you should check out one of Richard's tours!