Making the Scene: Yorkville and Hip Toronto in the 1960s

by Stuart Henderson

Making the Scene is a history of 1960s Yorkville, Toronto's countercultural mecca. It narrates the hip Village's development from its early coffee house days, when folksingers such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell flocked to the scene, to its tumultuous, drug-fuelled final months. A flashpoint for hip youth, politicians, parents, and journalists alike, Yorkville was also a battleground over identity, territory, and power. Stuart Henderson explores how this neighbourhood came to be regarded as an alternative space both as a geographic area and as a symbol of hip Toronto in the cultural imagination. Through recently unearthed documents and underground press coverage, Henderson pays special attention to voices that typically aren't heard in the story of Yorkville - including those of women, working class youth, business owners, and municipal authorities. Through a local history, Making the Scene offers new, exciting ways to think about the phenomenon of counterculture and urban manifestations of a hip identity as they have emerged in cities across North America and beyond.

Genres: History, Canada, Music, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2011

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book if you're interested in learning about Toronto neighborhood, Yorkville's roots as the epicenter of Canada's hip subculture and one of the key locations for the 60s hippie movement in North America along with Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco and Greenwich Village in New York City. The book is an adaptation of author Stuart Henderson's PhD. dissertation so is heavy on academic terminology and analysis and very sociological and anthropological in feel. As a result, those hoping for a breezy, gossipy nostalgic celebration of the sex, drugs and rock n roll at the core of the hippie lifestyle will probably be disappointed or frustrated in their attempt to tackle this book. It is still worth your time though if you're into Toronto history or 60s subculture.

[Deborah Sowery-Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of my son's University textbooks which I occasionally grab a book from. It was an interesting read about the culture & area of that period.

[John Arnold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry. Unless you're looking for a sociological study. But even then, there is not a lot of interest. Maybe if you were familiar with this neighborhood it would mean something more to you.

[Jake Goretzki · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I'm possibly a tad biased here (for Canada's Haight-Ashbury was the location of my first ever home on Planet Earth), this is still a gem. It's rigorous and academic, but - that rare thing - is actually very readable and well paced. Its coverage of shifting counterculture tribes, press scaremongering and City Hall objections to counterculture makes it a pretty decent microcosm of the sixties as a whole - not just of Toronto. In fact, there's even a mention of The Big Lebowski in the epilogue. The Bums Will Always...Win.