Guild Park and Gardens- Scarborough, ON

So many beautiful, well constructed buildings have been lost to “progress” over the years. I mourn each and everyone one of these losses, in almost a personal way. While these buildings can never be brought back, at the Guild Park and Gardens, key elements have been preserved.

The lakefront property itself has an interesting history, dating back over a century. In 1914, Colonel Harold C. Bickford built a 33 room white stucco Arts and Crafts mansion atop the famed Scarborough Bluffs, which he named Ranelagh Park. In 1921, when Bickford relocated to Buffalo, NY, he sold the property to the Catholic Church, who used the site as a boarding school for missionaries headed for China.

The church quickly outgrew the site, selling the property just a few years later to an American businessman, Richard Veech Look, who renamed the estate “Cliff Acres.”

In 1932, Rosa Breithaupt Hewetson (Clark) purchased the sprawling property from Look, with the intent to transform the residence into an Arts and Crafts campus, similar to the Roycroft Guild in New York. Here, artists were supported throughout The Great Depression, both living and working onsite, at what became known as “The Guild of All Arts.”

As the collective grew, word of the estate’s beauty began to travel outside of the art world. Visitors began arriving at the campus in droves, leading to the construction of a larger dining room, and more guest accommodations. Slowly, a country inn emerged. In 1945 however, the Canadian Government requisitioned the property, for use as a war hospital and rehab facility; the property was returned to the Clarks in 1947.

Following WWII, the Guild could not longer afford to subsidize resident artists. Rising taxes forced the Clarks to sell off 400 acres of their estate, and focus on generating profits at The Guild Inn. This coincided with an era of increased development in Toronto, which saw the demolition of many of the city’s historic structures.

Moved by the destruction of the city’s Beaux Arts, Gothic and Victorian structures, Spencer Clark, Rosa’s husband, became actively involved in preserving Toronto’s architectural treasures, including moving salvage from demolished buildings to the grounds of The Guild Inn.

Through the 1960’s the couple continued to collect the castoffs created by the “revitalization” of Toronto, including facades and architectural elements from banks, office buildings and residences, including the Art Deco Toronto Star building. In all, fragments of over 60 buildings were moved to the Guild property.

Concurrently, The Guild Inn’s popularity as a country retreat grew, and in 1965, a six story mid century modern hotel tower was added to the complex. In 1978, the Clarks sold the lakefront property to the City of Toronto for $8 million, while retaining the right to run the Inn for an additional 5 years. Once the Clarks exited, the resort started a slow decline, which saw multiple management changes, deferred maintenance, and finally closure in 1991.

While the grounds remained open, the Inn was shuttered until 2017, when it reemerged as a wedding and event venue. Gone are the mid-century tower and the mansion’s guest rooms, but the original building has been restored, and incorporated into the overall facility plan. At least the historic house was not reduced to a few architectural elements displayed on the Guild’s grounds.