Standing next to one of Guelph’s busiest crossroads is an enduring symbol of both the city’s highest cultural standards and its basest primal desires. The Sleeman Mansion, or the Manor, as it has come to be known, near Wellington Street and the Hanlon Parkway, has survived the ravages of time and the wrecking ball of progress. Its iconic exterior mixes classical architecture with neon lights and cinder blocks Completed in the summer of 1891, as a sprawling estate on what was then the edge of the new city of Guelph, it was a manifestation of the grand vision of former Guelph mayor and award-winning brewmaster George Sleeman. It was bought by entrepreneur Roger Cohen (who also owned The Desert Inn) in the 1980’s and repurposed as a gentleman’s club. However in recent years an extensive restoration and preservation effort has been underway with the support of both Roger Cohen and John Sleeman, the great-great grandson of George Sleeman Sr.