Market Hall

Market Hall. . , Market Square , The 1833 Plan of Barrie set aside a reserve for use as a market and public square. The two streets, Mulcaster and Collier, leading to the 3.5-acre space are wider than other streets to accommodate all the loaded wagons and farm equipment arriving. About 1842, the Simcoe Agricultural Society began holding an annual fair in the Market Square. The County of Simcoe transferred ownership of the land to the new Barrie Town Council in 1854. , Market Hall , Barrie Council needed a town hall and area farmers and vendors wanted one indoor place to peddle their goods. The solution came in 1856 when a Market Hall was built in the middle of Mulcaster at the north edge of Collier. The Barrie Brass Band founded by the Sons of Temperance in 1851 was the first to regularly use the "handsome and spacious hall upstairs", where many theatricals would follow. , Public weigh scales were installed on the street and the Barrie Rifle Company used Market Square for militia drills. , Fire Station , The fire brigade was given permission to put the engine and hoses in a shed at the rear of Market Hall. This was the fire station until a dedicated fire hall was built at the southwest corner of Market Square in 1865. , Period Makeovers , A lavish Second Empire style makeover to the Market Hall in 1877 added a mansard type roof and tower to create useable space on the third floor. Almost 75 years later, the tower and decorations were removed when the entire building was taken over for Town use in 1948. The weekly farmers market was moved to the armoury on the west side of Mulcaster, south of the fire hall. Town Hall became City Hall in 1959. , Demolition , The building was demolished in 1985 and Mulcaster Street returned to its original width when a new City Hall was built at the northwest corner of Market Square. A green metal arch in the shape of the 1877 mansard roof and tower was erected over Mulcaster and the footprint of the building is traced in paving stones.