Archive for December, 2008
Globe and Mail Guild Inn Coverage
Globe and Mail reporter Amanda Truscott wrote an article in today’s paper Locals worry art studio fire will hold back area revitalization. I am biased as I was interviewed for the piece, but I was happy to see that the President of the Guildwood Village Community Association and I share a similar sentiment about the Guild Inn being a Scarborough treasure and not a City of Toronto treasure as being part of what is holding back it’s redevelopment.
It’s New Years Eve, a day I’d perfer to not devote to anything political, so I will stop here, but I did want to share the post fire coverage.
No Comments »More Guild Inn Studio Pictures and Commentary
I received two additional pictures of the Guild Inn Studio I promised to share. They are both of the a fireplace in the Studio. I also want to share a comment that was made to me regarding the fire on Christmas morning. A resident who lives near the site reported hearing an explosion just before 5am when the fire is said to have started. I do hope Toronto Fire Services does a proper investigation into the causes of the fire and that those results are shared publicly.
The Scarborough Mirror also wrote an article about the Guild Inn Fire that included some commentary by Councillor Ainslie. My biases are known in this regard, but one of his comments seemed particularly ridiculous and completely without any factual merit.
“It’s a piece of the Guild Inn I would have liked to have seen preserved…It seems we keep taking two steps forward and one step back.” - Councillor Paul Ainslie
By way of simple facts, Councillor Ainslie supports the demolition of the main building – the Bickford Inn and has since at least 2005. He has supported up to 200 private, individually owned condo units operating as a hotel, and has supported the long term lease (read privatization) of 7.5 acres of parkland that would include some if not all of the garden area to a developer.
I strongly believe that the Guild Inn site should be preserved and serve a public and community use. I do not support any demolition of heritage buildings and find it laughable that a guy would honestly try and say ‘shucks that building burned… it was the only one I wanted to preserve’ while the Bickford Inn building, which is arguably more significant by way of heritage is likely to be demolished, and that is something he has and does fully support.
By way of taking two steps forward and one step back, if we explore this for a moment we will see his stint as Councillor has seen nothing but total failure to move the Guild Inn file forward. Councillor Ainslie was elected at a time when Westinde – an Ottawa based developer with considerable experience building Denny’s and strip malls in Ontario, was basically ready to go but could not find a site operator. Plans were drawn up, the necessary approvals were there, everything but demolition, sales of the condo units, and the construction had happened. In January 2007 – two months into his term, they walked away from the site, putting it back to square one. That same winter the Studio flooded and water was allowed to freeze causing damage and mould within the building the City was prepared to preserve. This September the City announced that Centennial College was interested (they have also been interested before) and agreed to enter into discussions with them. No plan has taken shape, no approvals have been given from Council, no money allocated, no timelines given and now a heritage building has burned down. So plans are farther behind then they were when he took office and the site is down a heritage building, and he supports the demolition of the more significant heritage building.
Does anyone see any steps forward?
Finally, back to the pictures. Below are a before and after of the fireplace in the Studio. Notice the round top of the fireplace in the first picture and then look beyond the stairs in the second picture and see the round top in the bottom right hand corner.
Fire place inside Studio, Summer 2008
Studio Stairs and Fire Places, Winter 2008
Photos by Jeanette Mahon, Guildwood Resident
No Comments »Guild Inn Fire Part Three – The Studio Before the Fire
The following pictures were taken last summer within the Studio building. I will provide some additional commentary below.
Studio Building, Summer 2008
Studio Building, Christmas 2008
Staircase within Studio, Summer 2008
Fireplace, Summer 2008
Dance Hall, Summer 2008
Kitchen Shelf, Summer 2008
Kitchen, Summer 2008
Candles, Summer 2008
Telephone Booth, Summer 2008
Unknown, Summer 2008
Photos by Jeanette Mahon, Guildwood Resident
I am going to start by saying I am grateful to the individual who sent me these pictures and shared with me the significance of the Guild Inn to their life. The Guild Inn stories of Guildwood residents are always deeply touching and demonstrate a bond between a place and the lives of those it touches that is rarely found in our City. The Guild Inn is undeniably a magic place that has touched many thousands of lives and seen it’s share of fascinating guests. We live with a sense of nostalgia for how the Guild once was, and a desire that it should return to it’s glory. In my previous post, I very clearly outlined the disconnect between the desires of Guildwood residents and the City of Toronto. The pictures above make that disconnect even more clear.
Residents think about the Guild regularly, visit the site often and anxiously wait the never ending re-development plans all the while worrying quietly about accidents like the one on Christmas morning. The Guild Inn has a place in the heart of Guildwood’s residents, and the City’s maintenance of the property demonstrates their lack of desire to act on the site. I can’t help by wonder how much better the old City of Scarborough could have dealt with this issue.
Take a look at the internal state of the Studio as it was this past summer. and remember that it is a listed heritage building that the City intended to restore. Boarded up, paint peeling, thick dust throughout, furniture piled up, dishes, candle holders and other stuff left in the kitchen. It is clear when worker’s closed up the Guild Inn after their last shift in 2001 and locked the doors, the City felt it’s responsibility ended. They did not close the Guild Inn, they’ve abandoned it. Residents have paid the price ever since, and have now begun losing their history before their eyes.
