The Grange, Georgian brick manor in Toronto, Canada

The Grange is a two-storey red brick Georgian manor built in 1817, the oldest surviving brick house in Toronto. Its symmetrical front has a triangular brick gable with a round white window above a dentilled cornice, and a central green door with a semicircular white fanlight framed by four white columns under a flat portico. A white stone staircase with low flanking walls leads up to the entrance, with two rows of tall shuttered windows on either side.

The house was built in 1817 for a prominent landowner and stands as one of the few surviving residential estates from Toronto's founding era. Later it became the first home of the city's art museum and an art school, making it central to the city's cultural development.

The house is named after the Boulton family estate in Lincolnshire, England. Sarah Anne Boulton was known as a superior hostess, and The Grange became a central site for the social and political happenings of early Toronto. Harriette Boulton and Goldwin Smith, who lived there until 1909 and 1910, bequeathed the building to the Art Museum of Toronto.

You can reach the house through the Art Gallery of Ontario, making it easy to combine a visit with other artworks and exhibitions. Take your time walking through each room to notice the details and how spaces connect to one another.

The house is named after the Boulton family estate in Lincolnshire, England. D'Arcy Boulton bought the land in 1817; the property then ran from Queen Street to Bloor Street and from Beverley Street to McCaul Street, about 100 acres. Part went to Bishop Strachan in 1828 for King's College.