It was a “festering sore in the middle of the city.”

Ontario MPP Syl Apps was referring to Toronto’s Yorkville community when he let loose with that comment in the 1960s, its most infamous decade.

But for others, this area near Bay and Bloor streets was one of the most exciting, colourful places in a staid city still often called “Toronto the good.”

Yorkville was anything but staid; it was where an explosion of youthful literary and musical talent were appearing on small stages in smoky coffee houses, next to edgy art galleries and funky fashion boutiques offering hippie garb, blow-up chairs, black light posters and hookah pipes, all housed in shabby Victorian row houses.

Certainly, many of the politicians of the day and police leaders would have liked to have seen the expulsion of hippies from this enclave north of Bloor, south of Davenport, west of Yonge and east of Avenue Rd. Many of the daily denizens of Yorkville — and its plethora of weekend visitors — openly used marijuana and other drugs and had what some called an “amoral” lifestyle, drawing comparisons to those who hung out in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury and New York’s Greenwich Village districts.

But the same counterculture that revelled in drug and sexual explorations also questioned the politics of war and what was seen as the stifling confines of conventionality. The area was a breeding ground for creativity and poetry readings by young literary talents such as Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Dennis Lee. And musicians from every genre — folk, rhythm and blues, jazz and rock — thrived in Yorkville’s clusters of coffee houses and clubs. Each offered something a little different.

Bikini-topped waitresses served at the Penny Farthing, where you could often hear Lonnie Johnson; Chez Monique’s had a rockin’ house band called the Sparrows (later known as Steppenwolf); the Mynah Bird dished up go-go dancers in a glass cubicle and the funky sounds of Rick James; Charlie Brown’s had the Ugly Ducklings; and the Avenue Road Club, known for its Toronto bands, blistered the stage with acts like Luke & the Apostles, Jon and Lee and the Checkmates, and The Mandala.

One of the earliest on the scene in this critical decade was The Purple Onion coffee house (1960-65) at 35 Avenue Rd. (corner of Yorkville Ave.). It was the first to host singer Carly Simon, who performed with sister, Lucy. It was also in the basement of the Onion, “between sets” that Buffy Sainte-Marie wrote her famous Vietnam protest song “Universal Soldier” (made a hit by Donovan), says former owner Barry Witkin, who was a 20-year-old chartered accountant student who thought it would be fun to open a folk music club with friends Sam Gutmacher and Al Lastman, whose brother, Mel, would later become famous in mayoralty circles.

They pooled their savings, rented the building for about $750 a month and charged $1 club memberships and entrance fees of $1.50 to $3. Beverages were non-alcoholic.

Gordon Lightfoot played at the Onion when he was still part of a duo called the Two Tones. “When the duo split up he came to us to say he was going solo and would we still hire him? We did and the rest is history,” says Witkin.

Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins and Ian and Sylvia played the club amongst many others. Rich Little honed his impersonations. American Rosey Grier (former NFL football star) sang. He had an unusual hobby. “I went downstairs to the basement one night to let him know the next set was in five minutes and he was doing needlepoint,” recalls Witkin. Grier would later write Rosey Grier’s Needlepoint for men.

Most notably, the Yorkville coffee houses were a crucible for Canadian talents like Lightfoot, Mitchell, Neil Young, Murray McLauchlan, Bruce Cockburn, Ian and Sylvia, Dan Hill and Buffy Saint-Marie.

The most famous venue was the Riverboat, at 134 Yorkville, which operated from 1964 to 1978 (outlasting Yorkville’s decade-long heyday). In addition to Canadian artists, Riverboat club owner Bernie Fiedler brought in some of the biggest acts in North America, artists such as Howlin’ Wolf, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Buddy Guy, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, James Taylor, Janis Ian, Tom Rush, Doc Watson, Tim Hardin and more.

Some were even inspired to write songs in the Riverboat’s “tiny rehearsal room with its graffiti-lined walls,” according to music journalist and author Nicholas Jennings, who wrote Before the Gold Rush, a history of the Yorkville-era of Canadian music. Jennings says Joni Mitchell wrote “Night in the City” while at the club, Lightfoot penned “Steel Rail Blues” and protest singer Phil Ochs wrote his ballad “Changes.” Mitchell also performed her hit “Both Sides Now” for the first time at the Riverboat, according to Jennings.

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The music scene was drawing huge numbers of people to Yorkville. Some also came just to gawk, hook up or get drug connections. The ever-cruising cars made air quality bad and in the interest of improving that and pedestrian safety, there was a move by area residents, to close Yorkville Ave. to traffic in 1967.

In support of this goal, a May 1967 “love-in” was held at Queen’s Park, which was attended by more than 4,000 people. It was followed by a sit-in on Yorkville Ave. in August that resulted in the arrest of 50 people for traffic obstruction and creating disturbances. The Toronto Star called it a “hippie brawl” but the Star’s Aug. 23, 1967 editorial said “police clubs are no answer” and suggested that Yorkville was a “colourful asset” and that the city close Yorkville Ave. from early evening to 3 a.m. during summer.

That didn’t happen. Instead, in the fall of 1967, police presence was increased and a paddy wagon parked at the corner of Hazleton and Yorkville on weekends. Police foot patrols enforced a 10 p.m. curfew for those younger than 18.

The following summer there were reports of “hippie hepatitis” in Yorkville, which led to vaccine stations being set up in the village. Heavier drugs were being pushed by motorcycle gangs. Nearby, at Bloor and Huron, Rochdale College — a “free university” opened in 1968, quickly gaining a reputation for being a hippie haven with easy access to drugs.

The 1970s ushered in major changes. Developers bought up the rundown Yorkville housing. Land deals were set up, one of which enabled the highrise Hyatt Regency to be built at the corner of Avenue Rd. and Yorkville Ave.

Today Yorkville still has art galleries but is best known for its high-end retail stores, restaurants popular with celebrities, and expensive condos.

To everything, there is a season.

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