The St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood is a family-friendly area with residents from mixed incomes and many different cultural backgrounds. This former industrial area is bounded by Yonge, Front, and Parliament Streets, and the Canadian National Railway embankment. The Esplanade off Yonge St., lined with restaurants, cafés and hotels runs through the middle of the area and is a destination for both locals and tourists visiting Toronto.

Some of the most interesting architecture in the city can be found in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood. One notable landmark is the Flatiron building, known for its distinct narrow, wedge shape where Wellington St. merges with Front. Built in 1892, it was the first of this type of building constructed in North America. If viewed from the east, the wedge can be seen in the foreground with the financial skyscrapers and the CN tower rising in the background.

Front Street is lined on both sides with restaurants. At the intersection of Front and Yonge are two performing arts houses, the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Toronto’s “centennial” project and the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.


The St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood is as old as Toronto itself. In fact, the Town of York – the forerunner to the City of Toronto – spanned 10 city blocks that now comprise part of the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. The architecturally significant 19th-century Georgian style red and yellow brick buildings that line Front Street harken back to this earlier period.

St. Lawrence residents have the luxury of being able to walk to the famous St. Lawrence Market, a food emporium with over 200 vendors again attracting shoppers from near and far. Stroll through this Toronto landmark and be entertained by live performers, enjoy a vast variety of prepared foods, and purchase everything from fresh seafood to farm fresh eggs and organic chicken. Shopping at this market dubbed the best food market in the world by National Geographic is an experience not to be missed.

While many of the old industrial buildings along Front Street east of Jarvis have been demolished since the 1950s, several old industrial buildings remain, including old meat-packing plants from the 1800s. Several have been converted into beautiful lofts or commercial space.