Saint John City Market

The Saint John City Market in Saint John, New Brunswick is the oldest continuously operated farmer's market in Canada, with a charter dating from 1785.[1] The market is located at 47 Charlotte street.[2]

Saint John City Market
Market exterior in 2007
LocationNew Brunswick, Canada
Nearest citySaint John
Established1785
Built1876
Websitewww.sjcitymarket.ca
Designated1986

History
St. John City Market (21713520090)

Prior to the establishment of the market at its current location, the city of Saint John operated several public markets.[3] The government of New Brunswick enacted a law for a public fish market, located in the Water street slips to be operated by the city of Saint John, in 1855.[4] Another was a hay market, run at the head of King Street.[3][5] The first two buildings to house the market, both made of wood, were destroyed by fire.[2] The current building, in the Second Empire style, was designed by the architects J.T.C. McKean and G.E. Fairweather and completed in 1876.[6][7] The 1876 building narrowly escaped the 1877 fire that destroyed 40% of the city's buildings.[8]

The current building has a unique roof structure, resembling an inverted ship's keel.[9] Made of wooden trusses, the structure was reportedly built by unemployed ship carpenters of the day.[10] Also, the floor slopes with the natural grade of the land.[11]

Some of the businesses in the market have been operating continuously there for more than 100 years. Facing onto Kings Square, the market is connected to the city's indoor pedway system.

The market was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1986.[12]

Notes
  1. Saint John City Market history Archived 2009-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Cameron, Christina; Wright, Janet; Branch, Parks Canada National Historic Parks and Sites (29 June 1980). "Second Empire Style in Canadian Architecture". National Historic Parks and Sites Branch – via Google Books.
  3. "History". sjcitymarket.ca.
  4. "The local and private statutes of New Brunswick". 30 June 2019 – via Google Books.
  5. Jack, David Russell (30 June 1883). Centennial Prize Esay on the History of the City and County of St. John. J. & A. McMillan. p. 131 – via Internet Archive. saint john hay Market on King Street.
  6. MacNutt, James W. (18 October 2010). Building for Democracy: The History and Architecture of the Legislative Buildings of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Formac Publishing Company Limited. ISBN 9780887809309 – via Google Books.
  7. Schade, Helmut Walter (29 June 1984). "A gateway to Canadian architecture". Scholastic Slide Services – via Google Books.
  8. "Saint John's historic buildings have lots of character, charm - The Chronicle Herald". www.thechronicleherald.ca.
  9. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-john-city-market-makeover-1.3256758
  10. John Leroux, Building New Brunswick: An Architectural History, (Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 2008), 87.
  11. Duncan, Dorothy (16 September 2006). Canadians at Table: Food, Fellowship, and Folklore: A Culinary History of Canada. Dundurn. p. 184 – via Internet Archive. saint john city market slope.
  12. "HistoricPlaces.ca - Recherche". www.historicplaces.ca.


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