About the Grange Park neighbourhood

Below:
Subway/streetcar info
Neighbourhood history

Grange Park is a vibrant & eclectic neighbourhood in the heart of downtown Toronto. It is a residential neighbourhood, a business and cultural centre, and a tourist destination.

The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Spadina Avenue, on the north by College Street, on the east by University Avenue and on the south by Queen Street West. It is within the City of Toronto's Kensington-Chinatown district. The commercial businesses of Chinatown and the University of Toronto campus extend to within this neighbourhood.

Grange Park contains numerous businesses, services, and cultural sites and features that attract thousands of visitors every day, among them: the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD), the University of Toronto, one of Toronto's Chinatowns, the hospital district, and part of Queen Street West. Grange Park regularly hosts film companies, parades, and other large-scale events.

(The southern Queen Street area of the neighbourhood was also, briefly but most dramatically, overrun by police and barricades during the G20 protests in June, 2010.)

Nestled into commercial areas and the quiet residential sidestreets are enclaves of historic homes and condominium buildings.

See city councillor Adam Vaughan's Grange District Map here.

Website: The Grange Community Association

History

Grange Park the neighbourhood is named after THE GRANGE, the historic estate and park located in the heart of the hood. Built in 1817 for D’Arcy Boulton Jr. and his wife Sarah Anne, the Georgian mansion and extensive grounds are now a national historic site.

The very popular Grange Park public park, once the front lawn of the estate, is located on Beverley Street just north of Queen. The park, extending south from the mansion, these days features a wading pool, children's playground, and numerous trees and walkways.

Historically, the backyard of THE GRANGE — extending north from the mansion — eventually was expanded and became the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Grange Park is officially owned by the Art Gallery of Ontario, but is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation. The late Harriet Boulton, also known as Mrs. Goldwin Smith, provided in her will that the Grange and annexed lands which were her home would be gifted to the Art Museum of Toronto. The land to the south of the Grange were to be made available for use as a park in perpetuity.

Transportation

Osgoode Station on the Yonge-University-Spadina line of the Toronto subway system is located at 250 University Avenue at Queen Street West. There are five entrances to the station at the Queen/University intersection, as shown in the map below. Osgoode is an accessible subway station.

The 501 Queen Street streetcar line remains the longest and one of the most heavily-used surface routes in Toronto. It is the longest streetcar route operating in North America and one of the longest streetcar routes operating in the world. The route was first instituted in the mid-19th century by private operators as a horse-drawn line, was later electrified, and was assumed by the TTC upon its creation in 1921. Service is provided 24 hours a day. It serves the Queen and Osgoode Stations on the Yonge-University-Spadina Subway.

The 501 Queen Street streetcars operate with a "proof of payment" system where passengers with transit passes or transfers can board at the rear doors without presenting their pass to an operator. During the trip, passengers are subject to random fare inspections, where proof of payment (hence the name) must be presented, with fines levied on those who do not comply.

The 510 Spadina Avenue streetcars operate entirely in their own right of way, except for the one-way short turn loop at Spadina and King streets. Most stops along the 510 routes are surface stops with islands separating the regular traffic from the streetcar tracks.

The 510 Spadina streetcar route operates between Spadina Station on the Bloor-Danforth and Yonge-University-Spadina Subways, the area of Spadina Avenue and Queens Quay West, and Union Station on the Yonge-University-Spadina Subway, generally in a north-south direction.  Both Spadina and Union Stations are accessible subway stations, but Spadina Station is accessible on the Bloor-Danforth Subway ONLY.

The 505 Dundas streetcar route operates between Dundas West Station and Broadview Station on the Bloor-Danforth Subway, generally in an east-west direction.  It also serves the St. Patrick and Dundas Stations on the Yonge-University-Spadina Subway.  Dundas West, Dundas and Broadview Stations are all accessible subway stations. Service This line operates at all times, seven days a week.