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St. Patrick Market Square. Toronto, ON, Canada, 2013[open in full screen]  

 
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This turned out to be real psychogeographical experience. I was doing an illustration for Toronto Life Magazine and task was to make an artwork of the building on Queen Street [illustration bellow].

Right besides there was a passage and visible in the distance on the wall was a message "luminous beings are we". Well that was good enough reason to go and inspect it more closely. Once there vistas opened up and there it was, St. Patrick Square.

  History of this space is even more interesting. The following is an excerpt from the April 4, 1913 edition of the Toronto World: "The strongest gale that struck the city’s plans was directed against the request that the city should be allowed to use the site of St. Patrick’s market for civic purposes other than as a civic market, in spite of the fact that when the property was bequeathed to the city by D’Arcy Boulton in 1837 it was expressly provided that it was to be used forever as a public market and that if the city ceased to use it for this purpose, the property should revert to the heirs of the Boulton estate".   Both building from 1837 and one from 1887 are gone today [check the photo bellow] but the structure that is here now still has a inscription "Market" above the main entrance. Square is behind the market building and it was open air market in the past. Surprisingly pleasant underused space except by the local homeless using it as day resting and socializing space.

This experiene deserves special psychogeographical page dedicate to the square/market, I hope it will be available soon.

menadering MEANDER ⇢ Strange Squares

Next Place des Festivals, Montreal

 
           
   
more about
evaluation method
more about
types of squares
sociability
9
ceremonial
x
uses & activities
8
religious
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access & linkages
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social
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comfort
10
residential
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image
8
courtyard
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tourist value
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with park
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total
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street, shopping
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Last time updated on December 5, 2020 13:36