Riverboat Coffee House

The Riverboat coffee house

Location| 134 Yorkville Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates| 43°40′15.11″N 79°23′38.73″W﻿ / ﻿43.6708639°N 79.3940917°W﻿ / 43.6708639; -79.3940917
Owner| Bernie Fiedler
Type| Coffeehouse
Genre(s)| Folk music.
Capacity| 120
Opened| October 1964
Closed| June 25, 1978

The Riverboat Coffee House was a Canadian coffeehouse located at 134 Yorkville Avenue in the Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was a key venue for folk rock music and singer songwriter music made famous for featuring high-profile acts, and is considered to be "the best-known coffee house in Canada."[1] It opened in October 1964 and closed on June 25, 1978.[1]

## History

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The Riverboat was owned by Bernie & Patricia (a.k.a. Sola, a well-known artist) Fiedler. Located in a basement, its decor was modelled after the interior of a boat, featuring port hole windows and intimate booths.[2] Legend has it that American protest singer Phil Ochs wrote one of his best-known songs, "Changes", on the back porch.[3]

## Notable performers

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Numerous Canadian artists, including Lenny Breau, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLauchlan and Billie Hughes, played the Riverboat.[4] A frequent stop on the touring circuit, many American artists, such as John Lee Hooker, James Taylor, Tim Hardin, Simon and Garfunkel, and Phil Ochs, also appeared there.

## Live albums recorded

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Live at the Riverboat 1969 by Neil Young

## Songs written at or about the Riverboat

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* Gordon Lightfoot. "Steel Rail Blues" Lightfoot!
* Joni Mitchell. "Night in the City" Song to a Seagull
* Neil Young. "Ambulance Blues" On the Beach
* Phil Ochs. "Changes" Phil Ochs in Concert

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Riverboat". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
2. ^ "Toronto Feature: Riverboat". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
3. ^ Jennings, Nicholas. "The Riverboat and Yorkville's rich music history". heritageyorkville.tripod.com. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
4. ^ "Airplay and TCD distribution for Bonfield-Dickson LP" (PDF). RPM. December 11, 1976.

## External links

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* Riverboat coffee house archival photographs from the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University

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