Toronto's Original City Hall: 1845-1899

The City of Toronto was incorporated from the Town of York in 1834 and for the first eleven years, city council members met in temporary quarters in a market building which once stood on the south-west corner of King Street East and Jarvis Street. This brick structure, the second market building to occupy the site, was built in 1831 but burnt down during a great fire in 1849. It was replaced in 1850 by the St. Lawrence Hall which still stands today.

By 1844, the population of Toronto had grown from 9,000 inhabitants in 1834 to over 24,000. Along with sufficient funds, council members were able to sponsor a competition for the construction of a City Hall. Not only would this building house the municipal offices, but the market and Police Station Number One, as well. Henry Bowyer Lane's design was chosen over those submitted by William Thomas, John Tully and John George Howard. Other buildings in Toronto to Lane's credit include Little Trinity Church (1843) and Holy Trinity Church (1847).

This new City Hall was built at a cost of $52,000 on the site previously occupied by the Home District Farmer's Storehouse. By early 1845, all of the municipal offices had moved into the new building and City Council was holding meetings in the newly appointed Council Chamber located on the second floor.

The exterior facade of the City Hall, with a frontage of 140 feet facing onto Front Street, was built in contrasting red brick and white stone in the Georgian tradition. Above the three storey centre block was a pediment topped by a cupola with a clock. The two wings extending on either side were only two stories high.

Police Station Number One was located on the main floor in the centre of the building and the jail cells were in the basement. Directly above, on the second floor, accessible by a staircase located in the entrance foyer, was the Council Chamber. This room was actually two stories high with a balcony above the north end which served as the public gallery. Hanging from the ceiling were "stove-pipe" ventilators which cleared the room of stale air and gas fumes emitted by the lamps.

Along the corridor on the second floor in the west wing were the offices of the Mayor, the City Clerk and assistants. In the east wing were the offices of the Chamberlain, General Inspector of Licences, City Engineer and the Board of Works. On the ground floor of both wings were various shops. On either side of the main entrance there were two archways which provided passageway from the front of the building to a market area in the rear where stalls of fruits, vegetables and poultry were found.

As early as 1850, less than six years after its completion, John George Howard, the City Engineer, presented the first of many reports on the condition of the building. There were complaints that the shops were too small and that flooding in the basement forced prisoners to be knee-deep in water. Efforts at that time were made to control the flooding, but jail cells were eventually relocated elsewhere in the city.

In 1851, the facade was first altered when William Thomas designed new shops for the wings, added keystones to the arched windows and rearranged the police station and jail cells. From 1868 until 1872, Henry Langley was responsible for yet another renovation. The facade took on another new look when the entranceways to the stores were no longer off Front Street and wooden doors were added to the passageways that let to the market. Additions were also made to accommodate the increase in the civic bureaucracy.

Finally in 1899, the over-crowded civic offices were transferred to the "new" City Hall, designed by E.J. Lennox and located at Bay and Queen streets. Toronto's original City Hall was vacated.

The Market Story in Depth

Introduction to History of the Market Complex
Toronto's Original City Hall: 1845-1899
The South St. Lawrence Market: 1899-Present
The North St. Lawrence Markets: 1803-Present
The Market Gallery
Selected Photographs
Printable History (Plain Text)