The first market sheds were erected around 1790, and gradually expanded to occupy most of the strip from the harbor to Meeting Street by 1806. After the Beef Market building burned in 1796, Charleston's beef market was shifted to the Centre Market. In its early days, the market was primarily a place to sell foodstuffs, and was subdivided into sections for beef, fish, and farm produce. The market was also a social center, where the city's lower and middle class residents could gather for drinking and playing games. Vultures, which kept the market clean by eating discarded meat scraps, were a common sight at the market into the 20th century and were protected by law.