Guildwood

Former Jeremiah Annis House
3750 Kingston Road
This heritage listed stone cottage dates back to 1867, when it was constructed as a home for Scarborough Councillor Jeremiah Annis and his family. Its notable architectural features include extensive exterior stonework, handmade wooden trim around the roof, and a Gothic centre gable. The building now houses a local pub, with a historical plaque inside the front door documenting the Annis family history.

Guildwood Village
61 Guildwood Parkway
A historical plaque in Rosa and Spencer Clark Parkette commemorates Guildwood Village, which was a dream of Spencer and Rosa Clark, founder of the Guild Inn of All Arts, to transform the area into a garden community. The Clarks envisaged creating a community for 7,000 people, complete with schools, community centres, churches, and shops. Design features included winding and secluded streets with mature trees, and a lack of overhead wires. When the first phase of the community had its grand opening in August 1957, a staggering 25,000 people showed up to see the furnished, architect-designed homes and it was thought to be the largest demonstration of this nature in Canada.

Guild Park and Gardens
201 Guildwood Parkway
This scenic and historic 36-hectare park, formerly Guildwood Park, is a sculpture sanctuary within beautiful gardens. It has an interesting history that reflects famous artists, powerful political figures and contributions made to the art community. The land was transformed into gardens and parkland by Rosa and Spencer Clark in the 1930s. The property and the architectural fragments ornamenting the gardens were sold to the Metro Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the Province of Ontario in 1978 to be maintained as a public park. The land is also significant for its rare tract of Carolinian forest. Today there are efforts by the City of Toronto and community organizations to protect this forested area and the animals that it supports. The park is an important site for migratory and nesting birds, and mammals such as deer and fox. A notable architectural fragment found within the park is from the Temple Building. When the original building first opened in downtown Toronto, it was one of Toronto's first skyscrapers and was the highest building in the British Empire. It housed the office of the Independent Order of Foresters (IOF). At that time, a Mohawk doctor - and one of Canada's first physicians - Dr. Oronhyatekha (or Dr. O) was the Chief Ranger of the organization. The building was demolished in 1970, but you can still see this history reflected in the ornate IOF initials that are carved in the red sandstone blocks under the moose's head.

The Guild Inn Estate (Bickford House)
201 Guildwood Parkway
General Harold Child Bickford purchased this property in 1914, named it Ranelagh Park Country Estate, and built the well-known Bickford House. Today, the Bickford House is a designated heritage property, and considered an excellent example of early twentieth century Period Revival style with Arts and Crafts detailing. In 1932, Rosa and Spencer Clark founded the Guild of All Arts after Rosa purchased 450 acres of land. The Guild of All Arts, mainly located in the Bickford House, was an artist colony that contained a shop, a tea room, and studios in fine art and craft, including painting, sculpture, hand loom weaving, tooled leather, ceramics, metal work, wood carving and batik. After the war, the Clarks expanded the colony to include a hotel, restaurant and formal gardens. The area became known as the Guild Inn or the Guild. During Toronto's building boom that began in the 1960s, many historic nineteenth and twentieth century downtown buildings were demolished. As an advocate for architectural preservation, Spencer Clark recovered many of these buildings' facades and architectural features and displayed them on the grounds of the Guild. The park and monuments were sold to the Metro Toronto and Region Conservation Authority in 1978. The hotel continued to be run by Spencer Clark until 1983. Today, the Bickford House has been restored and is home to the Guild Inn Estate, a restaurant, banquet hall and event space.

Sculptor's Cabin
201 Guildwood Parkway
*Note: Private property. Please observe the cabin from the outside only. The Sculptor's Cabin was built in 1940 by Danish wood sculptor Aage Madsen. It is the last remaining example of one of the many cabins built to house artists for the Guild of All Arts. Over the years, it has been home and studio for many sculpture artists. Local Scarborough artist Dorsey James carved the Norse mythology ornamentation on the face of the building in 1979.

The Greek Theatre
201 Guildwood Parkway
The Clarks built this open-air theatre from remnants of the historic Bank of Toronto building, which was demolished around 1960. The stage is adorned with eight limestone columns, and Corinthian capitals and arches that were repurposed from the façade of the building. Today, the Greek Theatre is used for events all year round and animated by the Guild Festival Theatre in the summer.

Clark Centre for the Arts
191 Guildwood Parkway
Located inside Guild Park and Gardens, the Clark Centre for the Arts is a stunning new cultural facility that houses specialized art studios and gallery spaces that Toronto residents and visitors can enjoy year-round. The Centre will provide rental opportunities and deliver close to 90 accessible arts programs annually, including art courses, workshops and camps.

Osterhout Cabin
201 Guildwood Parkway
*Note: Private property. Please observe the cabin from the outside only. The log cabin was built in approximately 1850. It is commonly referred to as the Osterhout Cabin. The site was provisioned to William Osterhout in 1805, but the property exchanged hands many times before the cabin was even built. It was later purchased with the property by Rosa and Spencer Clark, and modernized to be used as an artist residence and studio at the Guild of All Arts. It was last occupied by sculptor Elizabeth Fraser Williamson, who used the cabin as a studio into the 1990s. Today, the cabin is part of the Clark Centre for the Arts, operated by the City of Toronto, Arts Services.

South Marine Drive Park
Along the Shore of Lake Ontario
This park along the Scarborough Bluffs contains hard shorelines of old construction material along the shoreline which are intended to protect the bluffs from further erosion. A trail runs along the lake offering water and bluffs views. Please note that the trail has very few access points, and is best accessed in this neighbourhood through a path to the lake from Guild Park (the trail cannot be accessed from the parkette of the same name at 5 Rogate Place).

Chris Perez and Leyland Adams Mural
96 Dearham Wood Drive
This beautiful mural was painted by Leyland Adams and Chris Perez with the intention to, 'paint something beautiful for the community that really represented the people, the culture, and just the sense of community.' This mural is part of the StART project, which provides materials for the creation of graffiti art and art murals on properties with a history of repeated graffiti vandalism on walls exposed to city streets

Grey Abbey Park
180 Greyabbey Trail
Grey Abbey Park is located in the south end of Scarborough, east of Guildwood Park. It stretches along the shore of Lake Ontario. The Grey Abbey Trail takes you along the bluffs with beautiful views. There are great spots throughout the park to have a picnic and enjoy the beauty of the lake. This park is part of the Scarborough Bluffs. There is no access to the water at this park. Stay behind fences and obey no trespassing signs as the bluffs are unstable. Access the water from Bluffer's Park, Sylvan Park, Guild Park and Gardens, or East Point Park.