City to fund plaque for Yorkville’s Village Corner, where Gordon Lightfoot first performed
Council will consider releasing $5,300 in developer-funded funds to complete a heritage plaque for the Village Corner, the Yorkville club that helped launch Gordon Lightfoot.
Copy link
By Torontoer Staff
City Council will consider a motion this week to release $5,300 in developer-funded community benefits to cover remaining costs for a heritage plaque recognising the former Village Corner music venue at 174 Avenue Road.
Part of the plaque’s cost has already been raised through community crowdfunding. If approved, the balance would come from Section 37 funds tied to a development at 124 and 128 Pears Avenue. The motion was introduced by Councillor Dianne Saxe and seconded by Councillor Lily Cheng. Council will consider the item during its Oct. 8 to 10, 2025 meeting.
Why the plaque matters
The Village Corner was a small Yorkville club that operated in the 1960s and became a focal point for Canadian folk music. Owners John Morley and Roy Davies opened the venue in 1960. Initially it held about 60 people, and in 1962 it expanded into the neighbouring barbershop to accommodate roughly 100. The club closed after seven years, but its influence outlasted its short run.
Supporters say the plaque would mark the site’s cultural contribution and preserve memory of a venue that helped shape the careers of artists who later defined Canadian music. Using Section 37 developer contributions to finish the plaque is a common municipal approach to funding community benefits when a partial public or private contribution already exists.
A launchpad for performers
The Village Corner focused on Canadian folk musicians, both amateur and professional. That emphasis set it apart from other local coffeehouses at the time, which often booked international folk artists. The club gave early exposure to singers and songwriters who later became significant figures.
"While other local coffeehouses featured international folk artists, the Village Corner focussed on Canadian folk musicians, both amateur and professional."
Saxe’s Member’s Motion
Gordon Lightfoot recorded his first album, Live at the Village Corner, at the venue with fellow musician Terry Whelan as part of a duo called the Two Tones. Lightfoot later returned to the club for some of his earliest solo gigs. Other performers who found an audience there included Ian & Sylvia and David Wiffen, and the venue hosted visiting blues artists such as Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
The club and its community
Contemporary coverage described the Village Corner as welcoming to a broad cross-section of the public. The Toronto Star’s 1960 profile emphasised that the space was not a hangout "for the student beatnik element or potential law breakers." Membership was modest and admission was affordable, with 50-cent memberships and $1 entry fees, which helped make the club accessible to a variety of people.
"One 'Corner' regular is Ian Tyson, a clean shaved 24-year-old Vancouverite who makes folk singing his career."
Toronto Star, 1960
- Opened by John Morley and Roy Davies in 1960
- Expanded in 1962 into the adjacent barbershop
- Operated for seven years before closing in the late 1960s
- Site: 174 Avenue Road, Yorkville neighbourhood
- Plaque funding: partial crowdfunding plus proposed $5,300 from Section 37
What happens next
City Council’s decision will determine whether the remaining funds are released from the Section 37 account tied to the Pears Avenue development. If councillors approve the motion, work to finalise and install the plaque can proceed. The plaque will join Toronto’s existing heritage recognitions that document cultural, social and artistic sites across the city.
Supporters argue that marking small venues acknowledges an often-overlooked element of cultural history: places where artists first tested material, built audiences and formed early collaborations. The Village Corner’s footprint was small, but its role in the early careers of several notable performers gives the site outsized cultural significance.
City Council will consider the item from Oct. 8 to 10, 2025. If approved, the plaque will provide a permanent public record of the Village Corner’s contribution to Toronto’s music history.
Gordon LightfootVillage CornerheritageToronto musicYorkville
