THEN & NOW: THE SAINT JOHN CITY MARKET

150 Years of Food, Commerce, History and Community

Saint John Today | Then & Now Series

There are few places in Saint John where you can stand today and feel so closely connected to the people who walked the same floors generations ago.

For 150 years, the Saint John City Market has been part of everyday life in the city.

Opened in 1876, the Market has survived fire, economic change, urban renewal and generations of changing shopping habits. It remains a working public market in the heart of Uptown Saint John.

THEN: A New Market for a Growing City

The City Market we know today was not Saint John’s first market.

At one time, the city operated several separate markets, including a fish market and wharf, a country market, a hay market and a cattle market. City officials eventually decided that a growing city needed a centralized marketplace.

A competition was held in 1874 to choose the design for a new market building. New Brunswick architects McKean and Fairweather won the competition.

Construction followed, and the new City Market officially opened in 1876.

The building was designed in the Second Empire style, with a large market hall stretching through the centre of the block.

But perhaps its most remarkable feature is overhead.

LOOK UP — THE ROOF TELLS A STORY

The Market’s great timber roof is often described as resembling the inverted hull of a ship.

That was particularly appropriate in 19th-century Saint John, when shipbuilding was one of the city’s major industries.

The exposed hand-hewn timbers and distinctive trusses are among the building’s most important historic features. Parks Canada identifies the exposed timber framing, queen-post trusses and cast-iron columns as key elements of the Market’s heritage character.

In other words, the Market’s architecture reflects the city that built it.

Saint John was a shipbuilding city — and even its marketplace carries that connection.

1877: THE GREAT FIRE

The timing of the Market’s opening could hardly have been more significant.

Only about a year after the building opened, the Great Fire of 1877 swept through Saint John.

Large portions of the city were destroyed.

But the new City Market survived.

Its brick construction and fire-resistant design helped protect it while much of the surrounding city burned. Parks Canada describes the Market as having narrowly escaped the fire and notes that it remains an important surviving example of a 19th-century market building.

Imagine the scene:

A new market building standing amid a city being transformed by one of the worst disasters in Saint John’s history.

NOW: 150 YEARS LATER

Today, the Market looks different from the marketplace that welcomed shoppers in 1876, but its basic purpose remains remarkably familiar.

People still come to buy food.

They still meet friends.

They still browse the stalls.

They still gather in the centre of Uptown.

And merchants still make their living inside the historic building.

The Market’s official history describes it as Canada’s oldest continuously operating farmers’ market, while the City of Saint John describes it as a central gathering place that has served generations of Saint John residents.

A MARKET THAT KEPT CHANGING

The City Market has not simply been frozen in time.

Over the decades, the building has been renovated and adapted while retaining its historic character.

Today it contains a mixture of local businesses and food vendors, offering products and flavours that reflect both Saint John’s traditions and its modern, increasingly diverse community.

That may be the real secret of the Market’s survival.

It has changed without losing its identity.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Market was designed after a competition among local architects.

McKean and Fairweather won first prize, receiving $200 for their design. The building was constructed between 1874 and 1876.

The Market was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1986.

The Market has been in continuous use since it was constructed.

And in 2026, Saint John is celebrating 150 years of the City Market.

THEN & NOW

Look at an old photograph of the City Market.

The clothing has changed.

The vehicles have changed.

The businesses have changed.

The city around it has changed.

But the building itself remains.

That is what makes the City Market such a powerful symbol of Saint John.

It is not simply an old building.

It is a living piece of the city.

For 150 years, generations of Saint Johners have passed through those doors.

Parents brought their children.

Grandparents brought grandchildren.

Merchants built businesses.

Neighbours met neighbours.

Visitors discovered the city.

And today, another generation is creating its own memories inside the same historic walls.

WHAT WILL THE NEXT 150 YEARS BRING?

The challenge for Saint John is to preserve what makes the Market special while allowing it to remain useful and relevant to future generations.

The City’s current strategic planning recognizes the Market’s importance as both a heritage landmark and a gathering place for residents and visitors.

The goal isn’t to turn the Market into a museum.

It is to keep it alive.

And perhaps that is the greatest tribute Saint John can give a building that has already survived 150 years.

YOUR SAINT JOHN MEMORY

Do you remember shopping at the City Market as a child?

Do you remember a particular vendor, butcher, baker, fishmonger or shop?

Do you have an old photograph of the Market or Uptown Saint John?

Share your memories and photographs with Saint John Today.

Your photograph could become part of our next Then & Now feature.

SAINT JOHN TODAY

Then & Now: Celebrating the people, places and stories that made Saint John what it is today.

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Sources: Saint John City Market — History · Parks Canada — Saint John City Market National Historic Site · City of Saint John — City Market Strategic Plan · City Market — 150th Anniversary / Making the Market

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Next in the series: “Then & Now: Prince William Street — The Street Rebuilt from the Ashes.”