Beloved Toronto antique market will close forever after this weekend

Whether you're after classic jewelry, antiquarian books, or anything else vintage, Toronto's Sunday Antique Market has been the place to be for collectors every Sunday for over three decades.

But it appears that this will be the market's final Sunday south of St. Lawrence Market, as a closing announcement was posted on the Sunday Antique Market Facebook page on Wednesday evening, addressing days of rumours.

"We are very sad to say that this Sunday is the last antique market at St. Lawrence. Please visit us this Sunday for the last market. Thank you to all our customers and friends that have passed through our doors in the 31 years we had the pleasure to have spent time with."

The market has spent much of its existence operating out of the 2016-demolished St. Lawrence North Market, which is in the process of being replaced by a larger, modern building on the same site.

Since the North Market's demolition, the Sunday Antique Market has been operating out of a temporary location along with other former North Market tenants, housed in a large tent at Market St. and The Esplanade, immediately south of St. Lawrence Market.

It appears that with the difficult two years of lockdowns, the Antique Market has suffered all it can.

Marlene Cook, the operator of the antique market, tells blogTO that the "final nail in the coffin was the city's plan to close Market Street to vehicular traffic this summer."

It's already set to be a busy weekend for the city, with Doors Open Toronto returning for the first time since 2019. Still, anyone who loves scoring rare and collectible finds should take this final opportunity to visit the market on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Though even if you can't make it, there are still other places to find antiques in Toronto, like the restored Parkdale Hall, which also runs a weekly Sunday market.