Central Market, also known as Lancaster Central Market, is a historic public market located in Penn Square, in downtown

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

. Until 2005, when it was transferred to a trust, the market was the oldest municipally-operated market in the

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. The Central Market comprises approximately 60 vendors who principally sell foodstuffs – fresh fruits and produce, meats, cheeses, fish and seafood and baked goods – and flowers. Products for sale come from

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ern, and

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origins.

History

A public marketplace was deeded on this site in 1730 as part of the settlement of Lancaster. The marketplace was officially chartered by King George II on May 1, 1742, officially designating Lancaster as a market town. The Central Market occupies a portion of the original marketplace, with the first permanent building erected in 1757. This 20,540 square-foot brick building sits adjacent to the old

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, Lancaster's very first skyscraper as well as many other historical buildings. The current building was built in 1889, and is a brick building with a hipped and gabled

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

roof, in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style. Central Market was designed by English architect James H. Warner, who eventually made Lancaster his home. Its front facade features twin towers measuring feet tall, with a gable between them. The interior structure has wooden pillars supporting the roof with a grid of steel rod

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a brid ...

es. ''Note:'' This includes The Central Market was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1972. The Central Market is owned and maintained by the City of Lancaster and has been since its development. In more recent years the Central Market Trust, which is a non-profit 501 (c)3 organization has managed it. The trust was formed in 2005 and consists of the Market Manager and eleven volunteers from the community.

Offerings

Each week approximately 3,000 people visit the market, with 82 percent of these people living and/or working in Lancaster and an additional 33 percent of them living within the same zip code as the Central Market. Vendors offer a wide variety of international and

Amish cuisine The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss and Alsatian origins. As they maintain a degree of separation from surrounding populations, and ho ...

foods. Vendors include Kauffman's Fruit Farm from

Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania Bird-in-Hand is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, in East Lampeter Township. The "Bird in Hand" ZIP code extends east from the CDP into Leacock and Upper Leacoc ...

, Hodecker's bleached celery, cookies, Springerle House ornaments, hardwood smoked hams and bacon from S. Clyde Weaver, and sweets from Pennsylvania Fudge Company.Insiders' Guide to Pennsylvania Dutch Country
by Marilyn Odesser-Torpey For more than 100 years, the Stoner Family Vegetable stand has been selling their produce at the market, longer than any other vendor. Thomas Produce has been at the market for 80 years and over 60 years ago, Long's Horseradish stand joined the Central Market family.

Renovations

After more than 40 years since its last major upgrade, the Central Market finally received a $7 million renovation. By 2011, the entire project was officially completed. The renovation eliminated large suspended lights, uncovered many pre-existing long windows, and re positioned the mechanical system underground.

Awards and recognitions

The 2011 preservation plan
Lancaster Central Market: Assessments, Guidelines, and Recommendations for Preservation and Development
that guided the building renovation was nationally recognized, winning the American Planning Association's 2013 National Planning Excellence Award for Urban Design. The preservation plan was also awarded the Lancaster County Planning Commission's 2012 Leadership Achievement Award for Historic Resources. The building renovation won the Preservation Pennsylvania 2011 Award.

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

recently named Central Market as one of their travel favorites. The Central Market was also named one of America's 10 greatest

public place A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...

s by the

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

(APA), and was listed as one of the ten best fresh markets in the world
10 of the world’s best fresh markets
by

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in 2013. File:Central Market, Lancaster, PA - IMG 7736.JPG, Interior view File:Lancaster Central Market.JPG, Exterior view

References

External links

* * * * *
"Country’s Oldest Farmers’ Market"
{{Commons category, Central Market (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) Buildings and structures in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Commercial buildings completed in 1889 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Romanesque Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Lancaster, Pennsylvania