The "Quasquicentennial Market Celebration" Story

This is an artist's rendering of City Hall with one of the towers
of Lancaster's Central Market behind it.

It was an ordinary day.  Talking to Wayne at Strawberry & Company who sells my altered Polaroid prints in his store next to Lancaster Central Market in downtown Lancaster.  Told me about the big event that is coming up soon to celibate the 125th anniversary of the market.  Gonna have a big party that will include food, dancing and even cigars!  

My Polaroid print showing the market on the left
and the gift shops that sell this print on the right.

An auction will also take place where party goers will have the chance to own a piece of the historical market by bidding on one of a kind items such as market signs and furniture that stood in the market at one time.  On Saturday, September 20th the market will be open from 6:30 to 11:00 pm for the event called "Market Lights Up My Night".  He plans on staying open in hopes of making a few sales that evening.  

Old postcard showing the "curb markets" pre-1927.

Wanted me to be prepared and make a few extra photos of the market in hopes of selling them for me.  The historical site in Lancaster city was started in 1730 as a 120-square-foot lot in the center of town.  

Another "curb market" photo.

The market was officially chartered by King George II on May 1, 1742.  Was an open air market at first where farmers in the area sold their produce.  Also were many "curb markets" which lined the streets in the city.  The first permanent building was erected in 1757 and sat directly behind what was once the City Hall.  The building that exists today was built in 1889 and is red brick with a piped and gabled terra cotta roof in the Romanesque Revival style.  

Southern view of the market with a tower in the background.

It was designed by English architect James H. Warner.  On the South side of the building stand twin towers that are 72 feet high with a gable between them.  The interior still features wooden pillars that support the roof with a grid of steel rod trusses.  In 1890 there were approximately 160 stand holders which featured 79 butcher stands as well as many produce stands.  

Photo of Southern Market at the corner of S. Queen and W. Vine.

There were also stands surrounding the market building where stands holding ice covered the raw fish and seafood which were sold there.  The stand holders had approxi- mately 6 feet of display space for their wares; much different than the 24 foot stands that line the interior of the current market building. Originally the "curb markets" competed with the central market building, but in 1927 they were outlawed.  

I took this interior view last year to show the size of
the market stands.

Central Market wasn't the only structure that featured fresh food, since a block to the south on South Queen Street stood the Southern Market.  I remember my mother telling me that she used to push my baby stroller from 617 South Prince Street, where we lived with her mom and dad while my dad was in the Army during WWII, to the Southern Market on Saturday mornings to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.  Southern Market closed in the late 1980s leaving Central Market as the sole source of fresh food for the local residents.  Today there are 63 stand holders in the market which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.  I make frequent trips to downtown to drop off my Polaroid prints at Strawberry & Company as well as stop in the market to buy one of my favorites: cream-filled Long Johns (long donut).  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.