In 1914, the property (40 acres (16 ha) at that time) was known as Ranelagh Park, owned by Colonel Harold Bickford. Bickford built Bickford House, a 33-room, Arts and Crafts-style manor house on the property. In 1921, the property was sold to the Roman Catholic Church's Foreign Mission Society and renamed the China Mission College. In 1923, it was purchased by Richard Veech Look, who lived with his family at the mansion until 1927, when he was transferred to Quebec.
The property was vacant until 1932 when it was purchased by Rosa Breithaupt Hewetson. In August of that year, Hewetson married Herbert Spencer Clark in a ceremony on the estate. For a honeymoon, the couple chose to go on a motor trip to the United States to "visit co-operative organizations similar to the type in which they are both keenly interested." Both were directors of the Robert Owen Foundation, which was founded that year, an organization that supported the development of co-operative organizations.
The couple chose to reside in the mansion, and there fostered the arts, turning the property into an artist colony, modelled after Roycroft in East Aurora, New York, a center of the Arts and Crafts movement. By the time of the Second World War it had become The Guild of All Arts. Across their property, the Clarks built homes and workshops for artists, such as The Studio, which was assembled out of a garage and a stable from different parts of the grounds; it accommodated those practicing batik, woodworking, weaving, and metalworking. The Clarks also began collecting architectural elements from demolished buildings and erecting them in the gardens of the Guild as follies.
In 1934, the Clarks bought Corycliff, a house on five acres of property near the Bluffs, from the artist Rody Kenny Courtice. Over time, the Clarks bought surrounding farms. The property eventually amounted to 500 acres (200 ha), bounded by Lake Ontario to Kingston Road, and from Livingston Road to Galloway Road.
As more people were attracted to the artistic community on the bluffs, the Clarks made additions to the Guild in 1941 and 1942, after which the Government of Canada leased the property as a base for the Women's Royal Naval Service, called HMCS Bytown II, and following the conclusion of hostilities in Europe, retained it until 1947 as Scarborough Hall, a hospital for the treatment of nervous disorders.
The house was returned to the Clarks, who restored it to its pre-war functions. However, six years later the couple were forced by rising property taxes to sell 400 acres (1.6 km2) of their land to developers. Spencer Clark oversaw the planning of the area that would become Guildwood Village. After the demolition of New Fort York, Spencer Clark arranged for the transfer of the barracks' gates to the intersection of Kingston Road and Guildwood Parkway, the entrance to Guildwood Village.
On the remaining 90 acres (360,000 m2) around the Guild itself, the Clarks continued collecting and adding to their array of architectural remnants, as Victorian, Beaux-Arts, and Gothic Revival buildings throughout the city were pulled down to make way for Toronto's post-war growth and new attitudes towards planning. Altogether, pieces of more than 60 structures were amassed, from buildings such as the Toronto Bank Building and the home of Sir Frederick Banting, as well as various pieces of artwork, including 14 by Sorel Etrog. The Guild Inn proved so popular as a lakeside resort and artisans' community that in 1965 a six story, 100 room addition and a swimming pool were added, plus further renovations in 1968.
A decade later, in 1978, the Government of Ontario and Metropolitan Toronto (Metro) purchased the Guild Inn and property for CA$8.2 million and continued its operation as a hotel. Spencer Clark continued to run the Inn until 1984 when Metro formed a Board of Management was formed to oversee operations. At the time, the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was given control over the park lands and Bluffs frontage. Clark himself had overseen shoreline protection measures and the Conservation Authority was to preserve and manage those. Delta Hotels was contracted to manage the hotel. Clark died in 1986 and CN Hotels was approached in 1987 to take over the property. In 1988, CN Hotels was sold, and their lease was not renewed.
In 1988, Giant Step Realty signed a 99-year lease on the Inn. Giant Step had big plans for the site, including the conversion from 96 rooms to 437 rooms, removal of mature forest and architectural remnants. A new west wing was planned to be ten stories with 204 suites, a cultural centre and a conference centre. Guildwood Parkway would have to be widened to four lanes. The plan was strongly opposed by the Guildwood Village Community Association. Metro Toronto and Scarborough rejected the plan, rejecting the zoning amendment needed for it to proceed. In 1993, Giant Step closed the Inn after neglecting the gardens and Inn. Metro Toronto Parks took over and Ifield Hotel Association took over management.
In 1999, the park was designated a heritage property by the Heritage Canada Foundation.
The inn's fortunes declined. By 2001, the hotel and restaurant were closed, leaving only the park remaining open to the public, while new tenants were sought. A non-profit group called Artscape approached the city with a proposed strategy for a cultural precinct on the Guild Inn site, which was met with interest.
More concrete plans came, however, in September 2008, when the city approved a plan by Centennial College to operate a hotel, restaurant, and conference centre on the site for use in the school's hospitality courses, as well as to act as a location to house the college's Cultural and Heritage Institute. Though a fire on December 25, 2008 destroyed The Studio, preparations for Centennial's development continued, and the city in January 2009 approved the demolition of the hotel tower. Centennial College eventually abandoned the plan to renovate the Inn as too costly. A second plan proposed by Centennial College to demolish the inn and build student housing was rejected.
In 2013, the Toronto Star reported that the park was in a state of decay with sculptures eroding and some plaques missing. The Heritage Canada Foundation characterized the park's situation as one of "demolition by neglect".
A volunteer group, Friends of Guild Park and Gardens, was formed that year with a goal to protect the park and inn. That year, the City of Toronto approved the selection of Dynamic Hospitality and Entertainment Group to design, build, finance and operate a new restaurant and banquet/event centre at the Guild Inn site.
In 2014, the City of Toronto developed a management plan for the hotel, park and gardens. While this was done, the development proposal was under review. This completed in 2015 and it was announced that the Guild Inn would re-open as a special events venue operated by Dynamic Hospitality and Entertainment Group Inc. under the terms of a forty-year lease of the property. The original hotel would be renovated and two new "event spaces" would be added. The project is expected to cost CA$16 million, with 5 million coming from the City of Toronto.
The property was vacant until 1932 when it was purchased by Rosa Breithaupt Hewetson. In August of that year, Hewetson married Herbert Spencer Clark in a ceremony on the estate. For a honeymoon, the couple chose to go on a motor trip to the United States to "visit co-operative organizations similar to the type in which they are both keenly interested." Both were directors of the Robert Owen Foundation, which was founded that year, an organization that supported the development of co-operative organizations.
The couple chose to reside in the mansion, and there fostered the arts, turning the property into an artist colony, modelled after Roycroft in East Aurora, New York, a center of the Arts and Crafts movement. By the time of the Second World War it had become The Guild of All Arts. Across their property, the Clarks built homes and workshops for artists, such as The Studio, which was assembled out of a garage and a stable from different parts of the grounds; it accommodated those practicing batik, woodworking, weaving, and metalworking. The Clarks also began collecting architectural elements from demolished buildings and erecting them in the gardens of the Guild as follies.
In 1934, the Clarks bought Corycliff, a house on five acres of property near the Bluffs, from the artist Rody Kenny Courtice. Over time, the Clarks bought surrounding farms. The property eventually amounted to 500 acres (200 ha), bounded by Lake Ontario to Kingston Road, and from Livingston Road to Galloway Road.
As more people were attracted to the artistic community on the bluffs, the Clarks made additions to the Guild in 1941 and 1942, after which the Government of Canada leased the property as a base for the Women's Royal Naval Service, called HMCS Bytown II, and following the conclusion of hostilities in Europe, retained it until 1947 as Scarborough Hall, a hospital for the treatment of nervous disorders.
The house was returned to the Clarks, who restored it to its pre-war functions. However, six years later the couple were forced by rising property taxes to sell 400 acres (1.6 km2) of their land to developers. Spencer Clark oversaw the planning of the area that would become Guildwood Village. After the demolition of New Fort York, Spencer Clark arranged for the transfer of the barracks' gates to the intersection of Kingston Road and Guildwood Parkway, the entrance to Guildwood Village.
On the remaining 90 acres (360,000 m2) around the Guild itself, the Clarks continued collecting and adding to their array of architectural remnants, as Victorian, Beaux-Arts, and Gothic Revival buildings throughout the city were pulled down to make way for Toronto's post-war growth and new attitudes towards planning. Altogether, pieces of more than 60 structures were amassed, from buildings such as the Toronto Bank Building and the home of Sir Frederick Banting, as well as various pieces of artwork, including 14 by Sorel Etrog. The Guild Inn proved so popular as a lakeside resort and artisans' community that in 1965 a six story, 100 room addition and a swimming pool were added, plus further renovations in 1968.
A decade later, in 1978, the Government of Ontario and Metropolitan Toronto (Metro) purchased the Guild Inn and property for CA$8.2 million and continued its operation as a hotel. Spencer Clark continued to run the Inn until 1984 when Metro formed a Board of Management was formed to oversee operations. At the time, the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was given control over the park lands and Bluffs frontage. Clark himself had overseen shoreline protection measures and the Conservation Authority was to preserve and manage those. Delta Hotels was contracted to manage the hotel. Clark died in 1986 and CN Hotels was approached in 1987 to take over the property. In 1988, CN Hotels was sold, and their lease was not renewed.
In 1988, Giant Step Realty signed a 99-year lease on the Inn. Giant Step had big plans for the site, including the conversion from 96 rooms to 437 rooms, removal of mature forest and architectural remnants. A new west wing was planned to be ten stories with 204 suites, a cultural centre and a conference centre. Guildwood Parkway would have to be widened to four lanes. The plan was strongly opposed by the Guildwood Village Community Association. Metro Toronto and Scarborough rejected the plan, rejecting the zoning amendment needed for it to proceed. In 1993, Giant Step closed the Inn after neglecting the gardens and Inn. Metro Toronto Parks took over and Ifield Hotel Association took over management.
In 1999, the park was designated a heritage property by the Heritage Canada Foundation.
The inn's fortunes declined. By 2001, the hotel and restaurant were closed, leaving only the park remaining open to the public, while new tenants were sought. A non-profit group called Artscape approached the city with a proposed strategy for a cultural precinct on the Guild Inn site, which was met with interest.
More concrete plans came, however, in September 2008, when the city approved a plan by Centennial College to operate a hotel, restaurant, and conference centre on the site for use in the school's hospitality courses, as well as to act as a location to house the college's Cultural and Heritage Institute. Though a fire on December 25, 2008 destroyed The Studio, preparations for Centennial's development continued, and the city in January 2009 approved the demolition of the hotel tower. Centennial College eventually abandoned the plan to renovate the Inn as too costly. A second plan proposed by Centennial College to demolish the inn and build student housing was rejected.
In 2013, the Toronto Star reported that the park was in a state of decay with sculptures eroding and some plaques missing. The Heritage Canada Foundation characterized the park's situation as one of "demolition by neglect".
A volunteer group, Friends of Guild Park and Gardens, was formed that year with a goal to protect the park and inn. That year, the City of Toronto approved the selection of Dynamic Hospitality and Entertainment Group to design, build, finance and operate a new restaurant and banquet/event centre at the Guild Inn site.
In 2014, the City of Toronto developed a management plan for the hotel, park and gardens. While this was done, the development proposal was under review. This completed in 2015 and it was announced that the Guild Inn would re-open as a special events venue operated by Dynamic Hospitality and Entertainment Group Inc. under the terms of a forty-year lease of the property. The original hotel would be renovated and two new "event spaces" would be added. The project is expected to cost CA$16 million, with 5 million coming from the City of Toronto.
