*Excerpt from The Scarborough Mirror, Thursday, April 4, 2013
Article by Mike Adler

“Group Holds meeting on Guild’s future
‘Whole park thinking’ sought by Friends of the Guild Park and Gardens

“Realizing the potential of Guild Park requires a new vision for the entire Guild property, says a group hosting a meeting on the subject next week.

Friends of the Guild Park and Gardens wants to use “whole park thinking” to enhance the park, 88 acres on the Scarborough Bluffs once owned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority but managed by the City of Toronto.

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY

The land contains architectural fragments of Toronto buildings which can claim national importance, but the park itself has no drinking fountain or permanent public washroom, said John Mason, a Friends member.

Remnants of the 1919 Bank of Toronto building (left) were saved by Spencer Clark when demolished in 1966. The parts were integrated in 1981 to form a classic Greek Theatre, one of many architectural salvage pieces that still populate the beautiful Guild gardens.

The Guild Inn, formerly a private home and centre of an arts colony, has been shuttered for more than a decade, though the city is making a third attempt at finding a private partner who will restore or replace the building.

The new Friends group can meanwhile start working on ideas for the property that can complement work other local organizations, the Guildwood Village Community Association and Guild Renaissance Group, have done on the park’s behalf, Mason said. “It’s got to be used more effectively than it’s being used now.”

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS

The Friends are asking residents to bring questions and comments about the park to Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church at Guildwood Parkway and Livingston Road for the meeting at 7 p.m. next Thursday, April 11. Speakers will include Dave Harvey, founder and executive director of Park People, an alliance of volunteers with similar groups who “work cooperatively together to make our parks the best they can possibly be.”

The Guild, still the annual site of performances and an annual arts festival, may see a variety of improvements if the city decides this summer to partner with Dynamic Hospitality and Entertainment Group, a company expected to bid next month to operate a restaurant where the Inn now stands.

The city has for years planned additional investments in the park’s “cultural precinct” which are worth millions, and Paul Ainslie, the local city councillor, has also proposed replacing the Toronto Public Library’s Guildwood branch with a new library building at the park.

Residents of the surrounding Guildwood subdivision are applying to have the Guild recognized as a national historic site and students from nearby Sir Wilfred Laurier Collegiate almost finished supporting research for Heritage Canada, Mason said.

More about the group is posted on www.facebook.com/GuildPark…”