Q4. Where would you find a traditional open-air Greek Theatre in Toronto? (P12)
Q6. What does TV's Relic Hunter, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, and celebrity Kathleen Turner all have in common? (P12)
Toronto's Never Ending Romance
Guildwood Park on the Bluffs
By Beth Parker
You can make the trip by bike, by car, by transit—even by sail boat or canoe—but just 15 kilometres from downtown
Toronto is an almost magical garden and historic site. For generations, families have gone there to picnic, individuals
have walked the trails and explored the gardens, and artists have created their masterpieces on the site.
Welcome to the 88 acres of property known
as Guildwood Park – still remembered
by many long time Torontonians as the
“Guild of all arts”. High on top of the Scarborough
Bluffs in east Toronto, the site includes a lush forest,
a panoramic view of Lake Ontario and a mysterious,
almost ghostly garden of over 100 pieces of sculpture
and building fragments.
Guildwood Park is also the site of an historic
building, the Guild Inn, The Inn has seen many,
many memories. People have been married there,
movies and TV programs like Relic Hunter have
been filmed there, and famous guests including:
Canadian PM Lester B. Pearson, Burt Reynolds,
Kathleen Turner, and Christopher Reeve have
visited and stayed there. Although the Inn is now
closed and in disrepair, you still can explore the
property and be transformed back to romantic
stories of Toronto’s past.
The "Ghosts" of the Sculpture Garden: Saving Toronto’s Past
On the property’s front lawn is a
fascinating collection of columns and
architectural details from some of
Toronto’s historic buildings rescued
during the city’s building boom of
the 1950s and ‘60s. These fragments
are the last representatives of a part of
architectural history which was lost
before heritage preservation laws existed
to protect it.
Many longtime Torontonians might
remember where the buildings once
stood downtown, specifically in the area
of Bay, Yonge, Richmond and King
Streets. You actually, may have worked as a clerk at one of the many banks, or at the
former Toronto Star building, or maybe
you studied medicine at the University of
Toronto. If you aren’t old enough to have
lived during this time, you may in fact
have had your first job working in one
of Toronto’s modern landmarks, which
replaced one of the original landmarks.
In the 1950s and 60s, Toronto experienced
a renovation and building boom. It
therefore was decided that many older
downtown buildings decorated by master
stonemasons had to be demolished to
make room for more modern “practical”
buildings. This horrified Spencer Clark, owner of the Guildwood property.
On his own initiative, Clark salvaged
large, interesting architectural pieces
from the ill-fated building facades and
set them up on the grounds of the Guild
Inn. These fragments became part of the
sculpture gardens that remain today.
They include columns from the Bank of
Nova Scotia that used to stand at 39 King
Street West, and the Bank of Toronto at
King and Bay, Iconic pillar tops from
the old University of Toronto medical
building, and part of the old Toronto Star
building from 80 Yonge Street.
The Guild Inn’s Romantic History
The site of the Guild Inn and its property has a varied and romantic history. The land,
then occupied by various owners, was originally surveyed around 1795 by John Graves
Simcoe, the First Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada.
The building you see on the site was
built in 1914 as Ranelagh Park for
a retired American soldier, Colonel
Harold Charles Bickford. Bickford
wanted a country home for his wife
and seven children. He built the
multi bedroom, two-storey pseudo-
Georgian manor with a grand
staircase, balcony, veranda, and a
stable full of polo ponies. When the
family moved, the property changed
owners a couple more times until
it was bought by Rosa Breithaupt
Hewetson. Rosa, another dramatic
figure, was a widow with four
children and her late husband's
successful shoe company to run.
Toronto’s magnificent "Temple" Building
One particularly outstanding
structure, the Temple Building,
was the first skyscraper in Toronto.
It was ten stories high and at that
time it was the tallest building in the
British Empire. Read Toronto's First
Skyscraper, on page 35.
Take the Guild Sculpture Gardens – A walking Guide
(page 20) with you and stroll about the garden. Follow
the fascinating walking tour through this architectural
gem. You’ll see that each has a small plaque either on
them or near them to tell you what they are – and to take
you back in time.
Turning love of the arts into an arts guild
Rosa was very passionate about the arts;
in fact, her cousin was A.Y. Jackson, one
of the Group of Seven artists. Together
with her new husband, Spencer Clark
(see above), Rosa shared an interest " to
encourage the Group of Seven and offer
them a place to work." The couple formed
the Guild of All Arts in 1932 as an arts and
crafts collective to support artists during
the Great Depression.
Artists and artisans came from far and wide
to stay, working in exchange for room and
board. Cabins were built to accommodate
the artists, some of which are still there.
In addition, visitors flocked to the Guild
to watch artisans at work and enjoy the
beautiful property. The Clarks offered
meals and guest accommodations, turning
the Guild of all Arts into one of most
popular locations in the 1930s to stay and
to enjoy fine arts and crafts.
The end of an era and new life
In 1979, the Guild Inn was sold jointly
to the Province of Ontario and the
Metro Toronto Region and Conservation
Authority. The government assumed
responsibility for the care of the grounds
and artifacts but there it was no longer
possible to keep the Inn, or the Guild of
all Arts, in operation.
This past February, it was announced that
the Guild Inn area is getting revitalized
with a $4.2 million budget. Centennial
College will lease the property in order to
revitalize the Guild Inn and restore it to its
former glory with a hotel and restaurant
on the site.
Watch for another exciting event this
summer. For the first time in many years,
arts lovers will be welcomed back to the site
with the first ever Guild Theatre Festival
on the open-air Greek Theatre stage in the
Guild gardens. The first play will be The
Clouds by Aristophanes.

Watch for another
exciting event this
summer
For the first time in many years, arts
lovers will be welcome back to the
site with the first ever Guild Theatre
Festival Theatre on the open-air Greek
Theatre stage in the Guild gardens.
The first play will be "The Clouds"
by Aristophanes.

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