When Athens became the capital of Greece, there was no central market. So the architects who designed the new city placed the future market on Athinas Street and envisioned a grand building worthy of the capital. It took more than forty years for the authorities to secure the funds needed to buy privately owned houses and pieces of land at the site. The construction began in 1878 but stopped twice because of disputes with the contractors. Meanwhile, the main market remained among the ruins of Hadrian’s Library and the Roman market. It was an unsanitary cluster of wooden shacks that burned down in August 1884. The merchants were then forced to move their wares to the half-finished market on Athinas street. The building was finished two years later.