Its story begins in the roaring 1920s when the City of Guelph created a dance hall where big band era artists like Guy Lombardo played and local residents would take the “carryall” down from Guelph to dance the night away. The hotel next door served as a perfect place to stay, and one summer, the Ringling Brothers even set up their tightrope for practice between the hotel and dance hall!
In the decades to follow, the venue expanded to include a miniature railway to carry passengers around the park and a tour boat for visitors to journey around the lake. The dance hall became a marina with engine repair and boat rental facilities, and people would continue to come to the marina to relax and enjoy the beautiful landscape. In the 1950s, the Old Marina changed once again into a water ski school and pro shop. The McClintock Ski School still operates today out of what was the original hotel building!
It was in 1993 that the marina finally became the Old Marina Restaurant and Gift House. The original founders wanted to create a place of comfort, camaraderie, and casual dining, so they converted the marina into a family-oriented dining venue with wrap around porches and spectacular ambience. Despite a devastating fire in 2005, the Old Marina Restaurant re-opened in 2007 and has today become an escape within the city to the warm and cozy lakeside atmosphere with a large stone fireplace keeping you warm in winter, huge bay windows sharing the beauty of every season, and a large outdoor deck for relaxing over comfort food and great beverages.