The two purchased land in the Yorkville area and subdivided it into smaller lots on new side streets for those interested in living in the cleaner air outside York.

It was the breeding ground for some of Canada's most noted musical talents, including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Gordon Lightfoot, as well as then-underground literary figures such as Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen, and Dennis Lee.

Yorkville's domination by hippies and young people led MPP Syl Apps to refer to it as "a festering sore in the middle of the city" and call for its "eradication.

"[6] Joni Mitchell captured a colorful impression of the nightlife scene on Yorkville Avenue in her song "Night in the City.

[8] After the construction of the Bloor-Danforth subway, the value of land nearby increased, as higher densities were allowed by the City's official plan.

[citation needed] The Mink Mile shopping district is located on Bloor Street and includes office buildings with retail stores in the bottom one or two floors.

North of Bloor, on Yorkville and Cumberland streets, between the main arteries, the character changes to smaller buildings containing art galleries, first-floor retail, and restaurants.

[citation needed] The Village of Yorkville Park is a series of gardens that includes Scots Pines growing out of circular benches, a set of metal archways among a row of crabapple trees, a marshy wetland, a waterfall bordering one side of a courtyard filled with benches and chairs, and a 650-tonne granite rock.