The Guild is a unique facility encompassing several historic buildings inside a public park. Guildwood Park forms a naturalized frame around the formal Guild Inn Gardens, within which one may find the historic Guild Inn and several other historic structures. Surrounding these buildings are more than 70 architectural fragments and sculptures within the formal gardens.

Originally a private residence, the main building was renovated extensively to become a public hotel, and the buildings which surround it were pressed into service to become The Guild of All Arts, a Depression-era arts and crafts colony. The extensive private gardens surrounding the buildings became the site of a personal building conservation program by Rosa and Spencer Clark, whereby fragments from demolished buildings in and around Toronto were rescued by their efforts and re-erected to create a sculpture garden. Passing into the public domain in 1978, the grounds became a public park and the art and sculpture on display in the gardens became a unique attraction to this lovely setting atop the Scarborough Bluffs.

Location
191 Guildwood Parkway
Scarborough, ON M1E 1P5

A Brief History
The Guild Inn was built in 1914 as a white stucco, Arts and Crafts style mansion, surrounded by 88 acres of gardens and woodlands. The residence was built for Col. Harold C. Bickford, a retired American soldier, with a penchant for polo ponies and automobiles. When Rosa Breithaupt Hewetson purchased the property in 1932, shortly before her marriage to Spencer Clark, the socially conscious couple decided to model their new home into an artist's colony based on the Roycroft, New York model. Bickford's stables and garages were converted into "The Studio" which was to house the craft workshops of the artisans who lived and worked at The Guild of All Arts.

During the Second World War, the Canadian Government requisitioned the property and turned it into a training base for the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRENS). The hotel also served as a military hospital for victims of shellshock, with the craft facilities providing therapeutic rehabilitation for the service personnel undergoing treatment there.

The Clarks returned to the property in 1947. For the next 35 years, the Clarks built a reputation as patrons of the arts and preservationists, amassing a huge art collection and preserving architectural fragments from dozens of demolished buildings. The property and the architectural fragments were sold to the Province of Ontario in 1978 to be maintained as a public park. Spencer Clark continued to run the property until 1983, when a Board of Management was formed to oversee operations. In 1996, the Toronto Culture took over responsibility for the sculpture and architectural fragments, while the Parks and Recreation Division oversees The Guild Inn and the surrounding parkland.

The Guildwood School
As part of the mandate of The Guild of All Arts to preserve the craft tradition and foster arts education, The Guildwoods School operated from 1935-1936 as a private boarding school for children from kindergarten through elementary school. Classes emphasized the basic foundations of education with an artistic focus. The small classes often included instruction by notable personalities in the arts community. The hotel provided room and board for both the students and their teachers. However, this experiment in arts education failed, and the school closed after its first year.

In 1968, the Guildwood School of Arts and Crafts, a volunteer community organization and the forerunner of the present Cedar Ridge Studio Gallery was founded. It operated under the patronage of Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Clark in a building on the grounds of the Guild Inn. In 1972, the organization was incorporated as the Guildcrest Studios. Upon the invitation of the City of Scarborough, Guildcrest Studios agreed to move to Cedar Ridge, another estate nearby. Guildcrest Studios later changed its name to Cedar Ridge Studio Gallery and operated a teaching studio from 1978 to 1985. Today, Cedar Ridge is programmed by the City of Toronto's Toronto Culture.

The Ontario Heritage Foundation Collection at The Guild
During a 7 year period, from 1978 to 1985, Spencer and Rosa Clark donated a large number of works of art from their private collection to the Ontario Heritage Foundation. Some of these works of art, sculpture, antiques, furnishings and fixtures which graced The Guild Inn and the surrounding gardens remain on the property to this day. The Foundation, through its continuing stewardship of the collection, continues to explore opportunities to display these works of art for public enjoyment through participation in off-site exhibitions and gallery shows.

Rentals and Permits
Permits for wedding and commercial photography and filming in The Guild Gardens can be obtained from the City of Toronto at 416- 392-8188.

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The Guild Sculpture Walking Tour (178 kb)

The Guild Map (21 kb)

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