If you can remember the '60s.... you're older than you'd like to admit. But among other things, it was a time when what is now an upscale shopping district was the rundown focal point for youth, student militancy and rock and roll.
The folks at 91ÑÇÉ« Libraries’ remember it well, thanks to their stash of photographs and materials from the Toronto Telegram fonds that document Toronto’s 91ÑÇÉ«ville district in the 1960s - before it became gentrified.
Left: 91ÑÇÉ«ville, 1968 (91ÑÇÉ«, Clara Thomas Archives, Toronto Telegram fonds, ASC Image 639)
The spirit of 91ÑÇÉ«ville is captured in a new virtual exhibition called featuring selected photographs from the Toronto Telegram fonds and through stories shared by Nicholas Jennings, author of Before the Gold Rush: Flashbacks to the Dawn of Canadian Sound. The exhibit features photos of musicians Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot and others, as well as some great photos of the 91ÑÇÉ«ville scene and a discussion of attempts by the "city fathers" to clear the hippies out. For a virtual flashback, start .