Side A: Market Square, home to the Pearl Street Market, was located on the corner of Pearl and Lorain Streets (now West 25th St. and Lorain Ave.) in what was then known as the City of Ohio. The land that Market Square occupies was donated by local businessmen Josiah Barber and Richard Lord in 1840 for the public’s use. Farmers and food vendors gathered to sell their wares after a public market moved here in 1859. In 1868, an enclosed wood-framed Pearl Street Market building was erected.
Side B: Market Square was a meeting place for new immigrants and long-time neighborhood residents seeking both food and community. By 1901, the Pearl Street Market was inadequate to serve Cleveland’s rapidly growing population. Mayor tom L. Johnson appointed a commission to aquire land and develop a plan for a new public market. The old market was torn down in 1915, three years after the completion of the West Side Market across the street. The park honors the district’s long history as a destination for food shoppers.
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