St Lawrence Neighbourhood

St Lawrence is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Toronto and is a popular destination for tourists. Home to about 20,000 residents, St Lawrence is located on the east side of Downtown Toronto in an area bounded by Yonge street, Front street, Parliament street, and the Canadian National railway. In the 17th century the St Lawrence neighbourhood housed Toronto’s city hall and was the site of the first parliament buildings in Canada.

Today, St Lawrence is full of interesting shops, boutiques and restaurants, and has a relaxing, romantic ambience in the summer. St Lawrence is famous for its market, the St Lawrence Market which draws farmers from all over Ontario to sell their products.

The St Lawrence neighbourhood has some of the most interesting 19th and early 20th century architecture in Toronto, best demonstrated in the Flatiron building, a triangular edifice visible from Front Street. Next to the St Lawrence market is St Lawrence Hall, another building with a Victorian-style exterior. It was fully restored in the late 1960s and hosts art shows, weddings and other events.

A visit to St Lawrence, and to the many other Toronto neighbourhoods that offer lots of history and character, is time well spent, and a rare opportunity to see more of how life as it was centuries ago in Toronto.