Casa Loma – Toronto, Canada

A day trip to Toronto seemed to be a good idea while on our visit to Niagara Falls. (Toronto is about an hour and a half away.) We inquired about a day tour, but the concierge did not recommend any of the tours, and a private driver was out of our league, so…. With trusty map in hand, we thought we would tackle this short trip by ourselves. Getting there was easy on a Sunday morning. We were able to follow the map and get to where we wanted to go. The only problem was – We could not find parking. Bummer! But, we did visit Casa Loma, and that alone made our trip to Toronto worthwhile.

Casa Loma (Hill House in Spanish) is a 64,700 square foot castle in the city of Toronto. When it was built, it was the largest residence in Canada. It would still be if it was a residence.

A wealthy financier by the name of Sir Henry Pellatt (He had been knighted by The Queen.) began building Casa Loma in 1911. It took three years to build at a cost of about $3.5 million. Sadly, Sir Henery and his wife Lady Mary lived there less than ten years. Due to financial difficulties, – The city raised his taxes from $600 a year to $1000 a month. There was a depression after World War I, and his bank and real estate investments collapsed. Then he was instrumental in bringing hydro-electricity to Toronto (an amazing achievement), and the Providence expropriated his hydro-electrical business without compensation for his investment – Sir Henry Pellatt and Lady Mary were forced to abandon Casa Loma. So sad.

When Sir Henry died in 1939, he was virtually penniless and living with his chauffeur. It was touching that thousands of people lined the streets of Toronto to view his funeral procession and honor him.

In 1937, the city government seriously considered demolishing the run down Casa Loma. The Kiwanis Club of West Toronto rescued Casa Loma by offering to lease the castle and operate it as a tourist destination. (Sorry about the dark pictures, but the rooms were dark.)

In January 2014 the city entered a new long-term lease and operating agreement with Liberty Entertainment Group, led by President and CEO Nick Di Donato, which agreed to spend $7.4 million to continue the castle’s restoration, installing air conditioning, enhancing the special events and dining experience and integrating new technology for school and cultural programming. The company’s plans also include a fine dining facility. (Wikipedia)

I realize that is more information than you need to know, but I thought it interesting, and I wanted to share (I only hit the highlights.)

An audio guide was included with the admission. It was interesting and helpful.

The detail and workmanship in Casa Loma is unbelievable. Sir Henry’s coat of arms is incorporated into the ceiling of this hall.

Yes, there is even a pipe organ. What a magnificent room with the beamed ceiling. The displayed banners did remind me of castles in England. The iron chandeliers were gorgeous.

It would be beyond wonderful to attend a special event at Casa Loma. During our visit, we were serenaded – by an opera singer no less. Wow!

Even the halls are impressive.

Be still my heart. Perhaps my favorite room in the castle is the conservatory with the domed stained glass skylight. For your information, there are 98 rooms in Casa Loma.

I have never seen anything like this bed. Breathtaking.

I could enjoy tea in this room.

Tea in Lady Mary’s drawing room with the very antique chairs would be lovely. They said the chairs were the “real thing”.

Every room was gorgeous. The castle was built to be electrified, and the lighting was carefully planned.

Sir Henry’s bedroom had this impressive bed.

Can you imagine waking up each morning to this tiger-skin rug?

The indoor pumping was also state of the art for 1911. There were a lot of bathrooms. This shower reminds me of the multi-spray showers in homes today. Even his servants had bathrooms which was unheard of at that time.