Toronto - Part 6 Casa Loma

Another one of the days we were in Toronto, we visited this Castle that sits on the brow of a hill overlooking Toronto. It is called Casa Loma and was previously owned by Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. It was Sir Pellatt's lifelong dream to build a medieval castle and construction began in 1911 and was finally completed in 1914 to the tune of $3,500,000.00 - yep that's 3.5 million which is a whole lotta money considering it was 1911!. The Pellatt's lived in this house for less than 10 years before they lost their fortune and abandoned the house. All the original furnishings of the house were sold and the house was abandoned until 1937 when the City of Toronto and the Kiwanis Club took control of the property for $27,303.45 in back taxes. The castle has a whole lot of rooms complete with secret passages, an 800-foot tunnel, towers, stables, and beautiful 5-acre estate garden. Currently it remains as a tourist attraction but it can also be rented out for social functions. The castle is used in films as backdrops, etc. Here are some of the pictures of the outside:





Here are a couple of pictures of the very beautiful grounds and gardens:



Now for the inside: I was not impressed. The rooms had over an inch of dust everywhere. Some of the original furniture had been found and brought back to Casa Loma but never restored. The castle is filled with elegant and beautiful architecture and wood moldings and floors but they were in poor upkeep. The window coverings and seat covers that looked to be gorgeous hand done tapestries were worn and in total disrepair although all but the following "King's Chair" was not open to the public. Here is a picture of the King's Chair with my husband in it. Note he is holding his self guided digital audio tour guide which comes complete with earpieces. We had to exchange either one of ours or both at least 4 times during our tour and finally gave up trying to even listen to each room's description of what used to be in it and its history. I have also included the only room that was picture worthy - the conservatory which has a large stained glass dome and marble Italian floor. The ferneries you see on the sides are constructed of Ontario marble and the beds were kept warm by steam pipes.



The only other impressive items worth even a mention was the extensive gun collection Sir Pellatt had. While the grounds and outside were gorgeous, the inside was not worth the steep price of admission. I have toured many old buildings and they have been totally restored inside and out. I was highly disappointed with Casa Loma.