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.

Across their property, the Clarks built homes and workshops for artists,[5] such as The Studio, which was assembled out of a garage and a stable from different parts of the grounds; it accommodated those practising batik, woodworking, weaving, and metalworking.

[6] The Clarks also began collecting architectural elements from demolished buildings and erecting them in the gardens of the Guild as follies.

[7] In 1934, the Clarks bought Corycliff, a house on five acres of property near the Bluffs, from the artist Rody Kenny Courtice.

[8] As more people were attracted to the artistic community on the bluffs, the Clarks made additions to the Guild in 1941 and 1942,[5] 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 in military personnel.

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.

[11] The Guild Inn proved so popular as a lakeside resort and artisans' community that in 1965 a six storey, 100 room addition and a swimming pool were added, plus further renovations in 1968.

In 1978, the Government of Ontario and Metropolitan Toronto (Metro) purchased the Guild Inn and property for CA$8.2 million[12] and continued its operation as a hotel.

[12] At the time, the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was given control over the park lands and Bluffs frontage.

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.

[18] Though a fire on December 25, 2008 destroyed The Studio,[6][19] preparations for Centennial's development continued, and the city in January 2009 approved the demolition of the hotel tower.

A second plan proposed by Centennial College to demolish the inn and build student housing was rejected.

[16] In 2011, The Guild's iconic Greek Stage was the back setting for Canadian rapper Drake’s lead single from his sophomore album, "Take Care".

[16] 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.

[20] 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.

He, along with stonemason Arthur Hibberd, brought fragments of the demolished buildings, each an example of stone work that was no longer in vogue to the grounds, developing the Spencer Clark Collection of Historic Architecture.