It is no secret that market halls, market sheds, and market districts were once more prevalent in American cities [...]]]> This guest post features a collection of wonderful historic postcards and photos from the private collection of PPS markets consultant David K. O’Neil. We thank him for allowing us to share them with you here!

It is no secret that market halls, market sheds, and market districts were once more prevalent in American cities than they are today. Hundreds of markets burned down, were demolished, were removed for “higher and better uses” (oh, how I hate that term), or were replaced with empty “market squares”. Most towns, large and small, had at least one market that usually served as one of the most important, centrally located institutions in a growing city. Local economies were built around markets, which offered affordable opportunities to people who were looking to start a small business and vital lifelines connecting consumers and producers.

Many of these old markets were also quite beautiful, and as we prepare for our How to Create Successful Markets training workshop, we decided to reflect on some of our favorite old markets that are now gone forever…

The demolition of this genteel Southern market hall sparked the preservation movement that saved central Savannah / Photo: David K. O’Neil

City Market, Savannah, GA

Built on an earlier market site, this Romanesque style market hall was erected in 1872 and served as the central gathering place for the city until it was demolished in 1954.  The market’s demise was seen as a turning point in the preservation movement. A band of seven women who fought unsuccessfully to ‘save the market’ vowed to never lose another big battle, and they formed the Historic Savannah Foundation, which has gone on to save over 350 buildings in their city.

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The centrally located Washington Street Market was the largest in Buffalo at a time when the city was one of the most prosperous in America / Photo: David K. O’Neil

Washington Street Market, Buffalo, NY

Block between Chippewa, Washington and Ellicott Streets

Also known as the Chippewa Market, it was built in 1856 in the Romanesque revival style and measured 395 feet by 36 feet wide with a 24 foot veranda on each side. Hundreds of vendors sold their wares both indoors and out, anchoring a larger market district of jobbers, suppliers, warehouses and storefronts. Washington Market was the largest retail market in  Buffalo, occupying a 2.5 acre site. The others included the Clinton Street Market, Elk Street Market, and Broadway Market. After the market was demolished in the 1960s, the site was briefly occupied by a smaller market, but is now empty and serves as a parking lot.

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The fact that a grand market hall once stood on the National Mall underscores the importance that markets once played in cities across the US / Photo: David K. O’Neil

In this photo, food is unloaded next to the market with the Washington Monument rising in the background / Photo: David K. O’Neil

Center Market, Washington, DC

7^th St. NW and Pennsylvania Avenue

This grand market occupied one of the premier locations in Washington, DC, right on the mall! The market was built on a site chosen by George Washington himself.  A market operated here, in various forms, from 1801 until the 57,000-square-foot brick market hall was developed by a group of private citizens. Their architect was Adolph Cluss (who also designed DC’s still-operating Eastern Market) and the original part of the building went up in 1871, with an expansion added in the 1880s. It was also known as the Marsh Market, since the site was totally underwater at one time in the late 19^th century. A canal on the mall facilitated the delivery of goods from local and distant farms.

Center Market was destroyed in 1931, and the site is now occupied by the National Archives Building.

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This view of the old Maxwell Street Market shows a market district at its colorful, vibrant height / Photo: David K. O’Neil

Maxwell Street Market, Chicago, IL

Halsted Street from Taylor to 16^th Street

A classic market district, Maxwell Street Market was where waves of immigrants went for Sunday bargains, music, and cheap eats. Outdoor vendors would set up on tables, or sometimes just sell things right off the sidewalk itself. The market was home to many famous (and infamous) Americans: Benny Goodman, Muddy Waters, William Paley, and even the notorious killer Jack Ruby. In its heyday, the market ran for nearly a mile. Its slow demise began in the 1950s when the eastern part of the market was cut off for the freeway. The expanding University of Illinois at Chicago dealt the final blow when it demolished the last of the market for athletic fields and parking lots.  The ‘new’ Maxwell Street Market—aka Maxwell Street “lite”—still takes place on Sundays at Canal Street, but has little of the character of the old place.

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The Sheriff Street Market was an ornate, stunning building that was Cleveland’s largest until the West Side Market opened in 1912 / Photo: David K. O’Neil

Sheriff Street Market, Cleveland, OH

Sheriff Street (E 4^th) between Huron and Bolivar

Built in 1891 by a private investor group, the Sheriff Street Market was Cleveland’s largest market until the West Side Market opened in 1912. The market was being remodeled to incorporate a bus terminal when it caught on fire and was largely destroyed. A small part of the building was left, and operated as a market until it finally closed for good in 1936. The site was released to a group of 170 tenants from the old Central Market (which had also suffered a fire) and continued until 1981 when the number of tenants had dwindled to a few dozen and the site was sold to make way for the Gateway sports and entertainment complex.

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While it didn’t stay a market for very long, the Dreamland Pavilion was an important local landmark in San Diego’s history / Photo: David K. O’Neil

City Public Market, San Diego, CA

First and A Streets

This market was truly more of a dream than a reality. Built at the turn of the last century, the market was intended to give San Diego an amenity enjoyed by other large cities and entice new residents to the growing municipality. The market did not last long, however, and the first floor was soon converted into a boxing arena while the upstairs became a dance hall.  One well-known traveling woman evangelist, Mrs. Aimee McPherson, thought San Diegans were in need of saving and rented the first floor to conduct revival meetings that were very well attended.

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This aerial view shows the market on the edge of Portland’s densely packed downtown–a location that caused quite a bit of controversy / Photo: David K. O’Neil

The building’s stately Streamline Moderne facade must have been quite an impressive site up close / Photo: David K. O’Neil

This view of the market’s interior belies the struggle its developers faced in making it profitable. The market was open for less than a decade before it was sold off to the Navy / Photo: David K. O’Neil

Portland Public Market, Portland, OR

SW Front Avenue, between SW Salmon and SW Yamhill

Opening to great fanfare on December 14, 1933, the 220,000-square-foot market was billed as the largest in the United States. Controversial from start, the market was seen as being in the wrong location and undercutting the city’s other public markets. With room for over 200 vendors, a 500 seat auditorium, on-site parking, elevators, and modern storage facilities, the market was developed by a group of private businessmen who planned to sell it to the City once it became profitable. Success never came, and the market closed in 1942 and was leased to the US Navy.  Subsequently, it was sold to the Oregon Journal Newspaper, which finally sold it to the City in 1968.  It was demolished in 1969 to make way for the McCall Riverfront Park.

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The solid, brooding old city hall towers over this scene of the market in full swing during its heyday / Photo: David K. O’Neil

An image of the original market’s demolition to make way for a new WPA-funded facility that still operates today / Photo: Claude Page

City Market, Kansas City, MO

4^th and Grand Streets

Many early markets in the US were housed on the ground floor of town halls, following an ancient tradition that came to these shores from Europe. The old City Hall in Kansas City is a dramatic example of this co-location of politics and commerce.   After the Depression, the complex was demolished and City Hall moved into ‘downtown’ while the market was rebuilt in the same location with assistance from the WPA. It continues to operate there today, and is once again experiencing record sales and crowds. The current market’s wish list includes seeing the trolley—which can be seen above—returned to service.

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The architecture of San Antonio’s market was downright delicate compared to some of the others seen above / Photo: David K. O’Neil

City Market, San Antonio, TX

Commerce Street at Milam Square

San Antonio’s market history goes back nearly three centuries, intertwined with the traditions of Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers. The historic market plaza was given to the people through a land grant by the King of Spain in the 18^th century. This elegant market house, designed by English-born architect-turned-rancher Alfred Giles, was erected in the plaza in 1900. Incorporating fanciful ironwork, cupolas, and verandas, the second story had a large auditorium used for concerts and (again!) boxing, all overlooking a landscaped park with a fountain. This was a far cry from the rough and tumble days of rowdy saloons, donkey carts, covered wagons, chili stands, and a hanging tree where horse thieves were strung up in the open plaza. This lovely old market house was torn down in 1938. A Mercado is operating on the site today.

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This postcard gives some sense of the Wallabout Market’s size; it went on for several blocks / Photo: David K. O’Neil

This historic photo is mis-labeled as the Gansevoort Market in Manhattan. Today, Gansevoort is home to the upscale Meatpacking District, while Wallabout’s site is occupied by Brooklyn Navy Yard facilities / Photo: David K. O’Neil

Wallabout Market, Brooklyn, NY

North of Flushing Avenue, between Washington Ave and Ryerson Street

Built in 1894, the Wallabout Market was a spacious and more convenient location for Long Island farmers who preferred not to travel all the way to the Gansevoort or Harlem Markets in Manhattan. Designed in the Flemish Revival style by architect William Tubby, the Wallabout Market was a series of gabled buildings with a large open area for farmers to sell from their wagons. As urban development accelerated in the early 20^th century, the number of farms in King County (Brooklyn) plunged from a high of 10,000 in 1890 to less than 200 by 1944. The market’s demise was made final when the Navy Yard took over the market property in 1941.

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Today, of course, New York (particularly in north Brooklyn) is one of many American cities experiencing a market revival. We’ll be visiting several new markets within a stone’s throw of the old Wallabout site during the How to Create Successful Markets training workshop that we are organizing this May 31st and June 1st, including the Fort Greene Greemarket, the Brooklyn Flea, and Smorgasburg. Interested in attending? Click here to learn more and register today!

All slideshow images appear courtesy of David K. O’Neil.

The sun has barely risen, but the horses and delivery wagons forming a [...]]]> This slideshow charts the rise and fall of the Washington Market, from its earliest days to its destruction in 1960. Click the arrow to the right to advance to the next image.

All slideshow images appear courtesy of David K. O’Neil.

The sun has barely risen, but the horses and delivery wagons forming a steady stream from Dey to Canal Streets since nightfall have to share the road again. Rats scurry back into the maze of wooden sheds with their vegetable scraps as an early-to-rise New Yorker walks briskly down Washington Street, market bag in hand. He wants to be sure to get the day’s choicest fish, to be glimpsed jumping in their tanks. Not far behind him is a housewife, coming to the market for some young turkeys, chickens, and ducks. She places these in the basket her servant carries alongside her, next to the butter which has a separate tin cover. Soon the market is in full swing, with vendors prominently shouting out the fresh spinach and kale from New Jersey, bundles of rhubarb and asparagus from Long Island, and baskets of strawberries from the Carolinas.

Such was the scene in the Tribeca of 19^th century in downtown Manhattan. Commerce of a different sort continues in this neighborhood of the 21^st century. New Yorkers walking into the tony enclave’s restaurants, art galleries, Duane Reades, and Starbucks cafes, who today look up and see One World Trade Center rising overhead, are probably unaware that an enormous food hub called Washington Market used to make its home here.

Washington Market, a piece of forgotten New York history, would have celebrated its 200^th anniversary this year. The market got its start in 1812, and operated until the 1960s when it gave way to redevelopment, including the site that was to become the World Trade Center. With many of today’s cities experiencing a market renaissance, the rise and fall of the historic Washington Market offers both inspiration and wisdom for sustaining the growth of today’s farmers markets.

For most of its early history, New York was a Market City. Washington Market was one of several markets all over Manhattan, delivering fresh food to urban dwellers at a time when much more of the food was being produced locally. “When the market started, it was quite popular because it made it easier for people to get provisions from one central location,” says Hal Bromm, founder of the Committee for Washington Market Historic District. “You can imagine it as a kind of [early] urban supermarket.”

Washington Market began at the small neighborhood scale, and its growth over decades follows a trajectory recognizable in public markets to this day. David O’Neil, PPS’s public market expert, describes, “The simplest way to start is with a day table. From there, outdoor markets evolve by bringing in more vendors, selling more days, or operating at multiple locations throughout the city. Relating to Washington Market, “It started outdoors, then moved indoors, and then grew enormously over the years to include retail, wholesale, cold storage space, commission houses and brokers. When markets grow, you get to a certain scale of operations that gets other people providing supplies such as ice, lights, and hardware. There is a lot of evolution within the market and adjacent to it.”

Washington Market eventually grew to encompass several city blocks – a city within a city. It was a bustling, messy, vibrant place, active throughout all hours of the day and night. Enhanced sophistication in methods for growing and distribution allowed food to be brought in from all over the world via boat and train, then sent out to areas far beyond New York. An 1872 article published in the New York Times reveals, “Through Washington Market, filthy as it is, cramped, cabined and confined, the epicure grasps the luxuries of an entire continent, and the fruits of the islands in the tropic seas. Of such enterprise and such a trade New York ought to be, and indeed is, proud, though it cannot be concealed that the auspices under which it has grown up have not been encouraging, and the conveniences and facilities extended to it have been remarkably scanty.”

By the 1880s, there were more than 500 vendor stands and over 4,000 farmers’ wagons driving into the city daily to sell. With the growing complexity of its operations and evolution into a regional food distribution hub, New York City’s Office of Public Markets stepped in to regulate the competitive relations between farmers, wholesalers, and consumers. The office took responsibility for such things as public health and safety, traffic regulations, and weights and measurement standards. Although this specialized city bureau no longer exists, it underlines the vital role markets played in civic life.

In the end, despite its preeminence as a food center, Washington Market was forced to relocate to Hunts Point in the Bronx in 1962, overcome by a changing food system and the underlying real estate value it was sitting upon. Bromm explains, “The city’s goal was to get everyone to move to Hunts Point, where they could have a centralized location and transportation links that would make [food distribution] more efficient. By  the 1960s there was the South Street Seaport Market, which was for fishmongers and folks who dealt with seafood; Washington Market, which was produce, dairy, etc.; and then the meat market, which was up at Gansevoort and Little West 12^th Street. These three major markets each dealt with different aspects of the food chain.”

As O’Neil similarly emphasizes, “There was a lot of consolidation going on in the food industry, with bigger and bigger users and suppliers and small vendors falling to the wayside or going out of business. Washington Market was antiquated. There were all sorts of problems with aging infrastructure and accessibility, not being close to the highways.”

The perception of obsolete structures underlines Bromm’s point that “In terms of Washington Market, there was another goal, which was they thought the swath of land occupied by the market could be demolished and used as an urban renewal area. Remember, this was in the era of developers like Robert Moses.”

In the late 60s the city demolished huge swaths of the market between Greenwich, Washington, and West Streets, roughly from Laight Street at the north end all the way down to what was to become the World Trade Center site at the south. The area was cleared of many five- to six-story buildings with ground floors that housed market operators and businesses, with upper floors for offices and storage. In the book The Texture of Tribeca, which he co-authored, Bromm describes the photographs of people protesting in the street and carrying ‘Save the Washington Market’ signs. Says Bromm, “They were very upset that the city was going to move the market to Hunts Point and demolish all those buildings.”

Relegated to the margins of the city, the market quickly diminished in the public eye and never regained its former vitality as a public space. “Markets create value through socialization,” O’Neil explains, “and Hunts Point was missing the layers of people and urban uses.”

Cities today are seeing a markets make a comeback, as communities and civic leaders aim to tap into markets’ magnetic ability to attract people and bolster surrounding businesses while improving fresh food access. In 2000, there were about 2,800 farmers markets operating in the United States–a number that has now grown to over 7,000. From New York on one coast to Portland on the other, many American cities are seeing their market networks mature and thrive. The Santa Monica Farmers Market, successfully operating for over 30 years, is one of the pioneers of this new wave. Like Washington Market, it started out small and then expanded its network to encompass the four weekly markets currently operating.

Likewise market halls, once the cornerstone of community planning, are re-surging in cities large and small. In 2014, Boston Public Market anticipates moving into Parcel 7, the site of its new home with 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. Just last month, the community of New Bohemia in Cedar Rapids, Iowa passed a milestone with the opening of NewBo City Market. With this new market building, the community reclaims back stronger than ever a flood-ravaged industrial site.

Of course, the evolution of successful outdoor markets is not always to move into indoor market buildings. Vendors are adept at bringing infrastructure with them such as generators and refrigeration. Even with food preparations, there are a variety of possibilities from hot plates to food trucks. “If you do want more infrastructure or a permanent stall,” O’Neil remarks, “you generally go indoors. You would have more improvements like plumbing, electricity, storage, and signage.”

In addition to vendors taking stalls inside the market building, some will choose to open a permanent storefront facing the market or nearby. A market district is in the making when people, not necessarily market vendors themselves, see markets as an opportunity to start a business because of the clustering of food uses and foot traffic.

The historic Washington Market and these present-day exemplars all show how a market is more valuable than the sum of the transactions that take place immediately within its bounds. “The innovation of markets at the small scale tends to establish what people want and what works,” O’Neil explains, “which leads to larger copies in mainstream economy. It has all been quite positive. Local food and environmental movements that started in the market world and are now being picked up by Walmart and McDonalds.”

As supervisor of the Santa Monica Farmers Market program, Laura Avery’s experience is a testament to this. “The food movement is growing nation-wide,” says Avery, “and Santa Monica was there before it started. Our markets are thriving because of an incredible public interest in local sustainable food which developed a life of its own.”

The common thread that runs through all markets is that of change. As O’Neil says, “Markets are always in flux. They will be different tomorrow and you can’t get comfortable.”

However, if there is one constant throughout our country’s market history, it lies in markets’ dearly held place in public life. As a New York Times journalist wrote nearly 150 years ago, “Perhaps the chief attraction [of the Washington Market] lies in the essentially human character – in the bustle and the confusion, the rushing and the tohu bohu of the place. The rage which possesses both buyers and sellers, the concentration of purpose of so many thousands, the clangor of many voices, and the sounding of many footsteps, all impress themselves forcibly upon our imagination and appeal to our sympathies.”

Through communities’ diligence, safeguarding, and adaptability, many of the new farmers markets coming to life today will grow and last for as long, if not longer, than the historic Washington Market.