Auckland City Council built a produce market, Auckland City Markets, at the top of Queen Street (in the area later occupied by Aotea Square) in 1872, and rented stall sites to produce sellers and other vendors. In 1902 the council decided to lease the building. Edward Turner, who was running a produce auction business nearby, joined forces with several other auctioneers and won the tender. The City Market is the large building in the shape of a cross behind the row of shops in the foreground. The Agricultural Hall, erected on the market grounds in 1886, is the three-roofed structure to the left.