Guild Park
201 Guildwood Parkway M1E 1P5 Toronto, ON, Canada

A free public presentation about Guild Park's revitalization takes place on-line this Thursday (April 15) hosted by the Scarborough Community Renewal Organization (SCRO). "Bringing the Arts - and People - Back to Guild Park" is the title of the virtual presentation by John Mason, President of Friends of Guild Park. John gives an overview about: ... what makes Scarborough’s Guild Park special, how it was nearly demolished by neglect, and the valuable lessons learned by community volunteers active in the site’s ongoing renewal. The free event is part of SCRO's popular "Our Scarborough" speaker series featuring people making a difference in our community. Advance registration is required and available at https://scro.ca/our-scarborough The virtual event starts at 6:30 p.m. with 15 minutes of networking followed by 15 minutes of highlights about a SCRO-related program. The Guild Park presentation by John Mason will begin at 7:00 p.m. More information about SCRO and its volunteer activities is available at https://scro.ca/

Thanks to BlogTO for this update - with stunning images - about progress at Guild Park's Clark Centre for The Arts. It's another indicator of the City-wide interest in Guild Park's ongoing revitalization. An important note: The City of Toronto now expects the official opening of the Clark Centre in early 2022. The delay is caused by Covid-related issues affecting deliveries of building supplies, furnishings and art studio equipment; and the limited numbers of trades crews pe...rmitted to work on-site. City officials will make more information available in the coming weeks. - Posted Apr. 2/21 by John Mason, President, Friends of Guild Park

Heritage Toronto's 2020 Annual Report features Guild Park's new heritage plaque as one of the year's highlights for the charitable agency of the City of Toronto (see images). The plaque commemorates Guild Park as site of the historic "Guild of All Arts" - Canada's only arts community operating during the Great Depression in the 1930s. The plaque was installed in June 2020 and is Guild Park's first plaque from a recognized heritage organization. ... The marker is located near Guild Park's front entrance, a few steps from the restored Sculptor's Cabin. That wooden cabin, featuring carved Norse figures, was built in 1940 as a studio for resident artists. Installing the Heritage Toronto plaque was a four-year project for volunteers from Friends of Guild Park. The plaque was made possible thanks to the financial contributions from hundreds of Guild Park supporters - individuals and organizations, including the Guildwood Village Community Assn. (GVCA), the Guild Renaissance Group and Trafalgar Travel. The full 2020 Heritage Toronto Annual Report is available at https://www.heritagetoronto.org/ For more information about the plaque, you can watch a replay of the informal unveiling ceremony from June 28, 2020, at this link: https://fb.watch/4BMOm_1qXV/

Two years of Guild Park's revitalization are seen in these two photos. The amazing transformation of a vacant two-level structure, then known as Building 191 (named after its street address at 191 Guildwood Pkwy.), into a public arts facility is nearing completion. The older photo, from March 10, 2019, shows the empty building before main construction began. It was built in 1963 as an art storage warehouse and an office for Spencer Clark, who with his wife Rosa, owned and o...perated the Guild Inn and surrounding property. The second photo, from today (March 10, 2021), shows the original building now restored with the new third-storey addition and the expanded entry. The restored building is named the Clark Centre for The Arts to honour the Clarks for founding and operating the historic Guild of All Arts on this site for much of the twentieth century. The grounds surrounding the Clark Centre are dotted with newly-installed architectural artifacts. These stone fragments are reminders of how the Clarks saved parts of notable buildings that were demolished. Also nearby the centre are new benches, sitting areas, paths and bicycle racks. The muddy grounds will be more accessible later this year after the property is fully landscaped. Most of the exterior construction is complete. Attention now turns inside, which will include a series of public art facilities, exhibition areas and studio spaces for professional and emerging artists. There remains months of work before the Clark Centre officially opens. Due to Covid, restrictions continue to limit the number of trades workers who can access the building. Slow deliveries of specialty building materials are adding delays. Project officials believe the opening of the Clark Centre will likely be pushed back to early 2022. Despite the Covid-caused delays, the Clark Centre marks another milestone in Guild Park's renaissance. Two decades ago, the 88-acre property was seen as a neglected park without public facilities and activities. Since then, the City of Toronto, private companies, volunteer organizations and local residents have collaborated on a series of multi-million dollar projects at Guild Park. Creating the Clark Centre began when the City of Toronto's Economic Development & Culture Department consulted with local community members, then hired Taylor Hazell Architects to turn the potential ideas into a design. Atlas Construction then spent two years converting blueprints into reality.

Our first members' newsletter for 2021 is being emailed to members of Friends of Guild Park. It includes updates about the 88-acre park that will interest our members - people who've provided long-standing and incredibly valuable support for Guild Park's continuing revitalization and improvements. The newsletter is also our first effort using some new software. Sharp-eyed readers will notice that we didn't quite get the personalization correct. Instead of including the indiv...idualized name of each of our current members, every newsletter has the name of the volunteer Vice-President of Friends of Guild Park. Sorry for the glitch. We'll fix the mistake for next time. Meanwhile, for those Guild Park supporters interested in becoming members of our active volunteer group, or would like to renew their membership, you can visit https://guildpark.wildapricot.org/membership

Before your next visit to Guild Park, be sure to check out the two-page Walking Tour Map (below). Now you can enjoy your own self-guided tour of Guild Park. Friends of Guild Park created this map earlier this year to show where 10 of Guild Park's popular features are located throughout the 88-acre (36-hectare) site. The second page gives brief descriptions of these features. ... These are among the park's many highlights, which are included in the public walking tours organized by Friends of Guild Park. Unfortunately, we weren't able to hold any public tours on-site in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Note: This map will be updated in the future to include the latest additions to Guild Park. Any comments/questions? Just post in the comment section below. Guild Park is located in the heart of Guildwood Village, 201 Guildwood Pkwy., Toronto. It's operated by the City of Toronto and is open 24/7, 12 months of the year. Public services on-site are limited in the off-season. Please follow physical distancing and other Covid restrictions during your visit to Guild Park.

All three Bank of Toronto marble panels are in place at Guild Park. The crests represent, from left, Agriculture, Intelligence and Enterprise (see photos below). They were part of the bank's front facade. According to the 1982 booklet, The Spencer Clark Collection of Historic Architecture, the sculptor of these panels was Tonetti. ... The Bank of Toronto was built in 1912 at the southwest corner of King and Bay streets. The neo-classical building was modelled on the Bourse (stock market) in Paris. The Bank of Toronto architects, Carrere and Hastings, refined their Bank of Toronto design for their next project, the New York City Public Library. The Bank of Toronto was demolished in 1965 to make way for the TD Centre, the modern skyscraper complex designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The original marble building blocks were saved by Spencer Clark, who had many pieces reassembled at the site of today's Guild Park.

By early afternoon today (Oct. 29), two of the three Bank of Toronto panels were in place at Guild Park. More to come...

Three hand-crafted stone crests originally from the Bank of Toronto headquarters are being installed today (Oct. 29) at Guild Park. Each marble piece is about 6 ft (1.8 m) tall and weighs some 9,000 pounds (4 tonnes). The crests were built to be above each of the bank's three front doors. They were directly over marble archways, where the carved heads of Herakles (Hercules) kept watch.... The panels depict the original crest of the City of Toronto, plus the symbols of Agriculture and Enterprise. The installation began this morning with a crew from Atlas Construction, the same company in charge of Guild Park's Clark Centre For The Arts project. It's the first time in a generation that these crests are back on public display. Previously, they were located by the Guild Inn's east wing hotel tower, near the outdoor swimming pool. After those hotel features were closed (later to be demolished), the crests were put in storage and remained out of sight for more than 30 years. The new home for these crests is just south of Guild Park's historic Greek Theatre. That landmark for live performances was designed by noted Canadian architect, Ron Thom. The theatre is made from marble arches and columns also from the Bank of Toronto. The installation is part of Guild Park's ongoing revitalization underway by the City of Toronto. The return of these architectural artifacts and other public artworks at Guild Park is a project of the City's Economic Development & Culture department.

A peaceful musical interlude accompanied by scenes from Toronto's Guild Park & Gardens (fall, 2020). Paul McCartney's "The Long and Winding Road" played by Mike Duckworth. Thank you for creating this performance.

Here's some good news and bad news about Guild Park. The bad news likely won't surprise Guild Park’s thousands of visitors and supporters. Friends of Guild Park, the award-winning group that organizes popular tours and events on the 88-acre site, has cancelled all its public activities at the park for the rest of 2020.... This means the Hallowe’en and Christmas Tree Lighting events, which attract hundreds of people, won't take place this year. The good news? At its recent annual general meeting (AGM), Friends of Guild Park previewed the many ways it's continuing its mission to increase awareness and appreciation of Guild Park as a spectacular and sustainable public destination, where art meets nature." Those who attended the on-line AGM heard about the group’s latest operating year, along with a review of Guild Park's ongoing revitalization (see images below). AGM guest, City Councillor Paul Ainslie, whose ward includes Guild Park, gave updates on progress at the new Clark Centre for The Arts, now in its final phase of construction (see report below). That facility is now expected to open in mid-2021, after Covid-caused delays. Counselor Ainslie also announced the City's plans to build a long-needed, permanent public washroom facility at Guild Park. This will replace the existing temporary washroom trailer on-site. Friends of Guild Park revealed its newest proposal - a plan to further improve the grounds near Guild Park’s now-renovated Sculptor’s Cabin (shown below). The plan aims to enhance the visitor experience at Guild Park by installing seating, signage and other features, as recommended by the City's Guild Park plans. This will make the area by the Sculptor’s Cabin more useful as a Welcome Centre and art/community activity site. The Landscape Plan is at a very preliminary stage and will require additional input from Guild Park users. Implementing the final plan will also require Friends of Guild Park to raise funds for the project. Watch for details. If you'd like more information, please post a comment below.

For the second time in a week, Guild Park is recommended on social media as a place to visit, this time as one of "nine romantic spots in Ontario" "This magical park is filled with sculptures, architecture and romance," is how Narcity's blogger, Madeline Forsyth describes Guild Park. See more at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCeUpncMEbc/?utm_source=ig_embed... The on-line article highlights places where visitors can imagine they are enjoying "a little getaway to France" as they "explore stunning architecture at a secret park." Other locations Narcity lists that give a distinct Parisian vibe - with "no passport required" - include: the Ontario towns of Paris and Perth, Toronto's Yang's Flower Market and Cluny Bistro, Chateau Des Charmes in Niagara-On-The-Lake, and Parkwood Estate in nearby Oshawa.

Every season Guild Park - with its unique mix of history, art and nature - gets rediscovered. Thanks for this recent mention from BlogTO and recognized Guild Park as one of Scarborough's top five public parks! A reminder that Guild Park is open 24/7 all year round. The public washrooms are locked daily at dusk.

A Queen and a King have arrived today (Oct. 23, 2020) at Guild Park. The hand-carved bas-relief profiles of England's Queen Victoria and her son and successor, King Edward VII, are being installed by the patio overlooking Guild Park's south gardens. These are from a collection of 17 stone keystones that once graced the facade of the Richmond Building in London, Ont. ... Other notable stone portraits on that structure included explorer Christopher Columbus, artists Michelangelo and Rubens, writer Moliere, plus some local civic officials from the 19th century. The original, ornate building in downtown London was used for offices and meeting space. In the 1950s, it housed the first law office of John P. Robarts, who went on to serve as Ontario's premier from 1961 to 1971. When the Richmond Building was torn down, these bas-reliefs were saved by Spencer Clark, who with his wife, Rosa, owned the property that today is the site of Guild Park. Spencer added the 17 "Richmond Stones" to his collection of architectural facades and features that he displayed at the Clark's Guild Inn, one of Toronto's most popular hotels and restaurants in the 1950s and '60s. While some of these bas-reliefs were installed around the gardens and grounds of the Guild Inn, there's no record that the stones with Victoria's and Edward's likenesses were ever on public display. For the past 30 years or so, most of the Richmond Stones were stored on the Guild site, behind the building now being converted into the Clark Centre of the Arts. Construction of that facility was the catalyst to find permanent homes to display these pieces of history. The installation of the Victoria and Edward profiles is part of Guild Park's ongoing revitalization underway by the City of Toronto's Economic Development & Culture. Watch for news about additional architectural artifacts soon to be put on permanent display in Guild Park.

The art print of the watercolour of the Guild Inn's south garden. Original by Guildwood Village artist Roy Henry Wright. This print is presented by the Guild Renaissance Group. This print is one of the grand prizes from the Guild Park Photo Scavenger Hunt, which wrapped up Mon. Oct. 19th.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their entries for Guild Park's Photo Scavenger Hunt. From the comments we received, sounds like all the photographers - including those with young assistants - enjoyed tracking down all five features throughout the 88-acre site. The draw for the prizes - including the Guild Inn era art prints, the Guild Inn history books and the vintage post cards - will be in the next day or so. ... If time permits, we'll select the winners from all the entries received during the Friends of Guild Park on-line Annual General Meeting tomorrow evening. Otherwise, volunteer directors from Friends of Guild Park will draw from all the entrants later. Either way, the winners will be announced on this Facebook page, so keep watching and best of luck!

Just over 24 hours to go before Guild Park's Photo Scavenger Hunt wraps up. The deadline to find the five images on the grounds is 5 p.m. tomorrow - Monday October 19th. More than 4,000 people have read about the contest on Facebook, so now's your last chance to visit Guild Park - at 201 Guildwood Pkwy. - and take photos of the following five items located somewhere on site: ... 1. The School Bell. 2. The Sculpted Swan. 3. Your Favourite Canadian Animal Sculpture near Guild Park’s main gate. Choose your favourite from the six creatures carved on limestone panels. 4. The Cement Tree. 5. Your Favourite Flower/Tree growing in Guild Park. Be sure that ALL images you submit include a feature showing the photo is from Guild Park. Be creative! When you've got all five images, email them to [email protected]. Please include the word HUNT in the subject line. All photos must be emailed by 5:00 p.m. Monday October 19, 2020. The Guild Park Photo Scavenger Hunt is open to all ages. All entries with the five right items are eligible to win these great Guild Park prizes. Top Prize: Two art prints of the old Guild Inn, suitable for framing (see images) Runner Up Prizes: Four copies of the popular book, The History of the Guild Inn.. Consolation Prize: A set of five vintage postcards from the Guild Inn era. So head out to Guild Park, enjoy the hunt and the unique site - where art meets nature!

In advance of the Friends of Guild Park 2019-20 Annual General Meeting (AGM), this posting includes background material of interest to all Guild Park supporters. Our AGM will be a virtual meeting, held via Zoom on Tuesday, October 20, starting at 7:30 pm. The material posted here includes:... the AGM agenda the minutes from last year's AGM the financial report for fiscal 2019-20 (as at Apr. 30, 2020) a report by organization president, John Mason, plus notes about electing volunteer directors to the Friends of Guild Park board. The AGM for Friends of Guild Park is open to our members, park visitors and the public. Friends of Guild Park relies on memberships to support the volunteer activities and our ongoing advocacy to improve the historic, 88-acre site - where art meets nature. For those who'd like to show your support and renew or become members of Friends of Guild Park, you can go online for full details at: https://guildpark.wildapricot.org/membership If you prefer using a cheque, you'll find all the mailing details on the membership form included with this post. This year's AGM includes an interactive session with participants. If you have a comment about Guild Park, have suggestions or want to ask a question, simply post it below, or send an email to [email protected]. Friends of Guild Park volunteers will address as many of these comments and questions as we can during the hour-long AGM. To attend our AGM this Tuesday evening, please use this Zoom link: Friends of Guild Park Virtual Annual General Meeting Tuesday, October 20, from 7:30 9:00pm Join us on Zoom at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85220728544 Meeting ID: 852 2072 8544 Passcode: 548534 Since this is the first time we've used this technology for a public session, we suggest joining our meeting a few minutes early. We look forward to "seeing" our supporters on line on Tuesday October 20 at 7:30 pm