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While in Toronto, if you’re interested in castles and stately homes, why not check out Casa Loma. Casa Loma is now a museum and landmark in uptown Toronto. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Sir Henry was by all accounts a very colourful, flamboyant character. In his youth, he set a new world record for running the mile (4:42). He created a fortune in business and investments. One of the most successful of those investments was in early electric utilities. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911-1914. The architect of the mansion was E. J. Lennox, who was responsible for the designs of several other city landmarks and was also who designed the powerhouse at Niagara Falls.

In 1903 Sir Henry Pellatt purchased 25 lots from developers Kertland and Rolf. Sir Henry commissioned Canadian architect E.J. Lennox to design Casa Loma with construction beginning in 1911, starting with the massive stables, potting shed and Hunting Lodge (a.k.a. coach-house) a few hundred feet north of the main building.

The Hunting Lodge is a two storey 4,380 square foot house with servant’s quarters. As soon as the stable complex was completed, sir Henry sold his summer house in Scarborough to his son and moved to the Hunting Lodge. The stables were used as a construction site for the castle (also served as the quarters for the men servants), with some of the machinery still remaining in the rooms under the stables. The house cost approximately $3.5 million and took a team of 300 workers three years to build from start to finish. Unfortunately, due to the start of World War I, construction on the house was halted. At 98 rooms, it was the largest private residence in Canada. Notable amenities included an elevator, an oven large enough to cook an ox, two vertical passages for pipe organs, central vacuum, two secret passages in Sir Henry’s ground-floor office and three bowling alleys (never completed).

Most of the third floor was left unfinished, and today serve as the Regimental Museum for The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. Pellatt joined the Regiment as a Rifleman and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the Commanding Officer. He was knighted for his dedication to the Regiment. Later, Pellatt served as the Honorary Colonel and was promoted to Major-General upon retirement.

During the depression that followed World War One, the City of Toronto increased Casa Loma’s annual property taxes from $600 per year to $1,000 a month, and Pellatt, already experiencing financial difficulties,was forced to auction off $1.5-million in art and furnishings for only $250,000. Sir Henry was able to enjoy life in the house for less than ten years, leaving in 1923. It was later operated for a short time as a luxury hotel. During the late 1920s Casa Loma was also a popular nightspot. The Orange Blossoms, later known as Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, played there for eight months in 1927–1928. Shortly thereafter, they went on tour of North America and became a major swing era dance band.

The city seized Casa Loma in 1933 for $27,303 in back taxes.

The castle was extremely run down and the city was motioning for the castle to be demolished. In 1937 however, it was leased by the Kiwanis Club of Toronto (currently known as the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma). Today, Casa Loma is undergoing a 15 year exterior restoration.

Contrary to popular belief, Casa Loma has never been an official residence of either the city or the Province of Ontario. In 1937 it was opened to the public for the first time as a tourist attraction operated by the Kiwanis Club of Toronto. Coincidentally, this is the same year that Chorley Park, the Government House of Ontario was closed by the provincial government.

During World War II, Casa Loma was used to conceal research on sonar, and for construction of sonar devices (known as ASDIC)for U-boat detection. The house is still operated by the Kiwanis Club. Today it is one of Toronto’s most popular tourist attractions.
Due to its unique architectural character in Toronto, Casa Loma has been a popular location for movies and TV. For example, it has served as a location for movies such as X-Men, Strange Brew, Chicago, The Tuxedo, and The Pacifier.
Casa Loma is open daily from 9.30 – 5 [closes at 1pm Christmas Eve and all day Christmas Day] its a good place to visit on a Monday when the other Toronto museums are all closed

Entrance prices are $16 for adults, $10 for seniors [60+] and youths [14-17] and $4.75 for children 4-13. There is a cafe and a large gift shop on site. The house is wheelchair accessible, but there are steps at each end of the tunnel from the basement to the stables.

If you’re looking to get the most out of the castle, why not take the self-guided audio tour (available in 8 languages) which is available for $2.00. For information about parking at the site check out the Castle’s website

The castle is located at:
Casa Loma
1 Austin Terrace
Toronto, Ontario
M5R 1X8

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 9th, 2010 at 11:10 am and is filed under Ontario, Toronto. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.