Via Collective is proud to announce that we will be working with Prusik Group on the branding and wayfinding program for The Market Line and neighboring Essex Street Market. These two connected but distinct locations are part of the new multi-use Essex Crossing development. Once complete, the Market Line will be a new food hall beneath Essex Market, creating a new culinary destination for the city. This 150,000-square foot complex comprised of more than a hundred vendors will be one of the largest markets in the world, putting it on par with Barcelona’s La Boqueria and London’s Borough Market.
Essex Market has been a hub for the neighborhood since its inception as an outdoor market in 1818. Following a campaign by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to remove pushcarts from New York City’s streets, the market was formalized and moved indoors to a building at Essex and Delancey in 1940. It has remained in this location for almost 80 years, and will move to its new home in Essex Crossing in 2019. This new iteration of Essex Market will house both vendors from the original location as well as newcomers, providing affordable groceries to visitors and residents of the Lower East Side.