EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was written in 1985 by Stephen Otto for a catalog that was never published to accompany the exhibit “Meeting Places: Toronto’s City Halls,” at the Market Gallery. It is offered here to
mark Toronto’s 182nd anniversary of incorporation on March 6, and to foster understanding of the North St. Lawrence Market site where archaeological excavations are taking place currently prior to the redevelopment of the property for courts and a new market.
In July 1833 the
Colonial Advocate took notice of the increased pace of commerce and improvements in York: “everything is going on charmingly … In short York bids fair to become one of the first cities of importance, for commerce, extent and neatness, in British America.”