In 1969, Yorkville was awash in flower children, folksingers and free love man

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YORKVILLE MIGHT BE festooned with high-fashion finery, a place for the rich and fabulous to gather and howl at the moon, but that is mere recent history. Dig deeper, and you uncover a rich and diverse neighbourhood fondly remembered by many as the centre of Canadian hippie culture. Yes, Yorkville was more patchouli than Prada just a few short decades ago.

Folk music was the rage in the neigbourhood, and Yorkville Avenue was lined with coffee houses such as the Mousehole and the Penny Farthing, followed by the Riverboat, and the Mynah Bird (coincidentally, the name of Rick "Super Freak" James's band at the time, which included Neil Young). It was here that many of today's legendary Canadian folk musicians began their careers. Artists such as Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn and Ian and Sylvia Tyson took their first awkward steps toward fame. Even Young tried to get into the act, but he couldn't cut it, and he took off for the States.

But Yorkville wasn't just about the music. To quote the immortal Austin Powers, "It was the scene, man."

Rochdale College, situated between Yorkville and the University of Toronto, was Canada's first free university, filled with radical idealism that characterized the times and, to some, a den of impropriety where clothing was optional and recreational drug use was an accepted practice. Although the university didn't award degrees through the residence, you could buy one by making a $25 donation to the school.

In the 60s, "the hippies" got political and started fighting for their turf. They organized and petitioned to have cars banned from Yorkville to turn the neighbourhood into a pedestrian village. There was even a sit-in with hundreds taking part and thousands on the sidelines watching as police arrested more than 50 protesters.

I have nothing against Mr. Prada, but a pedestrian neighbourhood filled with coffee houses and the next Joni Mitchells and Gordon Lightfoots doesn't sound too bad to me!