Guild Park & Gardens — Attraction in Toronto

Guild Park and Gardens

Public park and building stonework conservatory in Toronto, Canada

Guild Park and Gardens is a public park in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park was formerly the site of an artist colony and is notable for its collection of relics saved from the demolition of buildings primarily in downtown Toronto arranged akin to ancient ruins. Located on the Scarborough Bluffs, Guild Park and Gardens has an outdoor Greek stage and a 19th-century log cabin among the oldest in Toronto. The principal building in the park is the Guild Inn, a former inn and estate mansion.

The park is located on Guildwood Parkway, east of Eglinton Avenue East and Kingston Road. Its 50 acres (20 ha) is accessed from the Guild Inn's own parking lots and from a parking lot for the Lake Ontario access trail, just to the east. The park is mostly forested. South of the Inn is a large area of grassy, open space. To the east, a ravine leads down from Guildwood Parkway to Lake Ontario. Along the bluffs, an east–west trail connects to Livingston Road to the west, with several points for viewing the lake. The edges of the bluffs are roped off for safety, as the bluffs are tall and composed of soft, sandy, unstable material.

History

The park is managed by Toronto Parks, on land that is the property of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. It was formerly known as Guildwood Park. It became a park after the Guild Inn and its property was bought by Metropolitan Toronto and the Government of Ontario in 1978 from Rosa Hewetson Clark and Spencer Clark. The Inn continued to operate until it closed in 2001. It was managed by various hotel management companies, including Delta Hotels, Canadian National Railway and others. It was first the "Ranelagh Park" estate of Col. Harold Bickford, then it became the China Mission Seminary, and the "Cliff Acres" estate of Richard Look, before it was bought in 1932 by Rosa Hewetson, who, along with her husband Spencer Clark converted it to "The Guild of all Arts" artists' colony and inn. During World War II and for a period afterward, it was used by the Government of Canada.

From the 1990s onwards, the property was the subject of several redevelopment proposals, which failed or were rejected. The City of Toronto government developed a management plan in 2014 for the park and gardens. The plan intends to preserve the park, protect the forest, bluffs and lakeshore, and maintain the heritage buildings (inn and cabin). The inn was restored, part of a new facility for weddings, meetings and gatherings. One new wing is a banquet hall. Another new wing includes...

Guild Park & Gardens is part of the Scarborough bluffs (though many of the paths are now closed due to it being unsafe) and has architectural pieces of Toronto’s history. Its an Outdoor Museum, free! There is an Arts Centre here where there are workshops, and art displays for local artists. There is also a wedding and party venue.

I wish there was better signage showing each of the pieces, the before and after, and the history. Its not always clear what building each piece is from and it would help the experience.

The most intriguing part is the remnants of Toronto buildings salvaged, reconstructed, and preserved by the Clarks from the 40s onwards: The Bank of Toronto, the old Globe and Mail headquarters that stood at King and York streets, the Toronto Fire Department's 19th century Engine House No. 2, the iconic Greek Theatre that is composed of eight Corinthian columns salvaged from the 1912 Bank of Toronto, the Inn’s entrance gates off Kingston Road were formerly the entrance to the Stanley Barracks at Exhibition Place, parts of the tallest building in the British Empire in 1896 the Temple Building was considered Toronto’s first skyscraper. These two recognized the sculptural value of Toronto’s disappearing nineteenth and early-twentieth century architecture and collected them. Now, these pieces are part of the City of Toronto park. You can find them closest to the parking lot near the banquet hall.

The boardwalks behind the Arts Centre lead to the street and school near by and are a mix of paved and unpaved surfaces. Clearly, the City and Community put a lot of money into the upkeep as rocks are painted orange if they are sticking up out of the ground (this neighbourhood is also “high end”).

Some history: Philanthropists Rosa and Spencer Clark who apparently during the Depression, supported painters, sculptors, weavers, potters and other artisans by welcoming them to live and work on the grounds of their home. The Inn is where their home used to be, which is now part of the park. The space has since been renovated and revitalized by the Toronto...

Guild Park and Gardens, a veritable Eden nested within Toronto's urban sprawl, is a horticulturalist's dream. As you meander along the lush, well-kept paths, the verdant canopy of ancient trees – mighty oaks and sentinel pines – stretches overhead, whispering tales of the centuries they've silently witnessed. Each tree's bark is a tactile tapestry, woven with the intricate threads of time. The stately cliff edges, a mere stone's throw away, flirt with the cobalt waters of Lake Ontario, providing heart-stopping vistas that would make even the most stoic of poets wax lyrical about the marriage of land and sea.

The floral diversity is a vibrant tableau, boasting a rainbow of blooms that punctuate the park with pops of color. The radiant reds of the rose mallow, the sublime blues of the chicory, and the striking yellows of the goldenrod form a living kaleidoscope that dances in the dappled sunlight. Each blossom is a testament to the intricate artistry of Mother Nature, and an open invitation for pollinators to partake in the grand dance of life.

Bountiful benches dot the landscape, each a private perch offering serene solitude for weary wanderers. They serve as the park's unsung heroes, bearing silent witness to countless stories, whispered secrets, and stolen kisses. And let's not forget the squirrels, those mischievous jesters of the park, who provide a delightful dash of comedy amidst the bucolic beauty. In the end, Guild Park and Gardens is more than a park – it's a symphony of natural wonders that makes one's heart sing and soul dance in harmony with the rhythm...