Town Tavern Commemorative Plaque, 2017
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Resource ID
5268
Access
Open
Address
2 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M5C 3G7
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2017
Historical Themes
Keywords
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Caption
Town Tavern Commemorative Plaque, 2017
Description
The Town Tavern, located at 2 Queen Street East for 23 years, was an important part of the Yonge Street music scene. Opened in 1949 as a theatre restaurant, club owner Sam Berger turned the Town Tavern into a full-time jazz venue in 1955 at the suggestion of legendary Canadian pianist, Oscar Peterson.
Text on plaque:
The Town Tavern, located here for 23 years, was an important part of the Yonge Street music scene. Opened in 1949 as a theatre restaurant, club owner Sam Berger turned the Town Tavern into a full-time jazz venue in 1955 at the suggestion of legendary Canadian pianist, Oscar Peterson.
It was here, two years later, that Peterson, bassist Ray Brown, and guitarist Herb Ellis recorded their famous live album, On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Town Tavern was a popular venue with touring musicians, among them American artists Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, and Lester Young. The Town Tavern closed in 1972 and the building was later demolished.
Marker lat / long: 43.652724, -79.378486 (WGS84)