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Billing itself as "a taste of life in the past lane," The Grange revives the 1830s with charming tours, old-fashioned baking, period costumes, and family-oriented activities. Indeed, there is no better place to visit if you want to understand the elegant lifestyle of colonial York (now bustling Toronto). From its resplendent facade, featuring Doric columns and entabulatures, The Grange’s grace, permanence and formality reflect the city’s pastoral yesterdays.

Once at the center of a tremendous estate, The Grange is an excellent example of Georgian simplicity. D’Arcy Boulton Jr. (1785-1846), a lawyer-turned-merchant planned this handsome, symmetrical home on a 100-acre tract he bought with the proceeds of his successful dry-goods and general store. It was completed in 1818, during the reconstruction following the War of 1812, with additions added in the 1840s and 1880s.

Modeled after British country homes and villas of its day, the building is a delight to move through. Its center hall is wide enough to serve as a ballroom and its staircases, period furniture and fine wallpapers are also sight to behold. The interior sports a Greek Revival style once popular in the colony and a beautiful spiral main staircase.

Boulton used his home as the model centerpiece for a series of subdivisions. As he sold his estate piecemeal, The Grange remained unchanged. It was later donated by his descendents to the Art Gallery of Ontario. In 1967, during Canada’s centennial year, The Grange was lovingly restored.