John and I are often in the neighbourhood of Grange Park. After a year of landscaping and construction the park has reopened and is already attracting a wide variety of users.
The "Great Lawn" with its circular sidewalk, snuggles up to the
front steps of the Grange (the Boulton family mansion, 1817) and to the south wall
of the AGO.
It was fun to see a frisbee being tossed on one part of the lawn
while undisturbed under a nearby tree a family enjoyed a quiet picnic.
The walk leading up to the Great Lawn from the south features quotations from local poets.
Bill remembers swimming with Milton Acorn forty years ago at the adjacent University Settlement Community Centre (where we still swim today).
There is a new children's playground on the east side of the park,
with state-of-the-art equipment.
It has already been discovered by local children and summer activity groups.
The waterworks are another of the playground highlights --
providing a safe place for kids and their parents to play and cool down.
We liked William Pye's gleaming fountain, Acquaverde (2017) in the north-west corner.
Local dog owner's have already adopted the new off-leash dog park on the south-west corner
with Henry Moore's iconic sculpture, Large Two Forms,
looking very much at home in its woodland setting.
Kudos to the City of Toronto for this tremendous new public space -- an oasis in the density of the downtown core.
