The Grange
As of Sunday, April 17, 2005, The Grange will close to the public and will remain closed for the duration of the Gallery’s construction phase, reopening in 2008. The closure is necessary as the construction work that will occur in the sculpture atrium will prevent access, and a crane will be working over the north part of the house.
Site coordinator Jennifer Rieger notes that, “while it is sad that The Grange will be closed for so long, this as an exciting opportunity to rethink the house and its role in the Transformed AGO.” Jennifer has been in discussions with the Grange Council, the Canadian Art Department and contemporary artists to gather ideas and views on how The Grange can best reflect its role as the first home of the AGO.
The roof and the painted, etched window will be covered with padding and plywood for protection. The interior of the window will have a layer of supporting film that will allow us to monitor it and which will also hold any breaks or cracks together. The house will be monitored for relative humidity, water, security and vibrations.
Artifacts and furniture will be packed and stored on-site. Grange volunteers will be helping with inventory and organization, and a moving firm will be doing the packing. Volunteers will also be boxing the library books, organizing the packing costumes, and working on other packing in general.
A National Historic Site
The Grange is proud to belong to the family of national historic sites. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated The Grange in 1970 for its national historic and architectural significance. Our plaque, received at a ceremony in 1984, reads as follows:
The Grange was built in about 1817 for D’Arcy Boulton Jr. At one time, the town of York (now Toronto) was surrounded by residential estates belonging to prominent citizens, and The Grange is one of the few to survive. Its symmetrical five-bay façade and central pediment reflect the conservative influence of the British classical tradition of the 18th century. The west wing represents two later additions. Given to the Art Museum of Toronto in 1911, The Grange is now owned by the AGO and is restored to the 1835-40 period.
Harriette Boulton Smith, the last owner of The Grange, married prominent historian and liberal thinker Goldwin Smith in 1875. In 1975, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated him a person of national historic significance. The plaque to Goldwin Smith, also received in 1984, reads as follows:
Born and educated in England, Goldwin Smith taught history at Oxford and Cornell before moving to Toronto in 1871. He married Harriette Boulton in 1875, widow of William Henry Boulton of The Grange. From The Grange, Smith wrote in controversial and compelling style for periodicals such as Canadian Monthly, the Week and his own Bystander. Initially a proponent of Canadian nationalism, he later became, contrary to growing imperial sentiment, a strong advocate of commercial union with the US. This view in 1891 inspired his best-known book, Canada and the Canadian Question.
The Grange is a member of The National Historic Sites Alliance for Ontario (NHSAO). The NHSAO is an unincorporated body that links the 240 national historic sites that are currently recognized in Ontario. The alliance promotes the commemorative integrity and value of national historic sites through cooperative action by site owners, managers and stakeholders. To learn more about the NHSAO, contact kristianclarke@hotmail.com.
