August
28, 2006
Hello from Toronto: A First Hand Look at
Casa Loma – Exploring the Nooks and Crannies of Toronto’s
Castle
Casa Loma,
Toronto’s castle and the city's second most important tourist
attraction, has an extremely interesting history. It was the life
dream and brainchild of Sir Henry Pellatt, one of Canada’s
most successful industrialists and financiers in the early 20th
century. After learning about the fascinating
background of this unique structure in my meeting with Lou Seiler,
Casa Loma’s Director of Marketing, it was time to explore
these fascinating buildings first hand. Lou explained that Casa
Loma actually is a complex that includes several buildings: the
Stables and the Hunting Lodge (construction started in 1906), and
Casa Loma itself (built between 1911 and 1913). The architect was
E.J. Lennox, one of Toronto’s foremost architects who also
built Toronto’s Old City Hall, the West Wing of the Ontario
Legislature – Queens Park, and the King Edward Hotel. Pellatt
loved medieval architecture and drew sketches of architectural details
during his trips to Europe which he passed on to his architect for
inclusion in the plans of his dream castle.
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The Stables, precursor to the later Castle
After leaving the basement cafeteria, Sir Henry Pellatt’s
state-of-the art exercise room, Lou showed me the roughed-in swimming
pool in the basement that was never finished due to lack of funds.
It was supposed to be a lavish feature, clad in marble and decorated
with gold swans. Then we had a quick peek into the castle’s
Gift Shop, whose three arches were laneways for Sir Henry’s
proposed bowling alley. We stayed with the underground theme and
walked through an 800 foot long and 18 foot deep Tunnel past original
furnace facilities that could burn the 800 tons of coal necessary
to heat the entire complex over the winter. On the other side of
the Tunnel we reached the Potting Shed, used to propagate the large
number of plants on display around the estate. Pellatt was an avid
lover of horticulture, had an extensive garden with exotic birds
and animals and won several prizes for his orchids and chrysanthemums.
The Castle viewed from the Garden
Our next stop was the Garage. Although these were the early days
of vehicle ownership, Sir Henry Pallett owned four vehicles, and
as a real pioneer of his times, he owned the first electric car
in Toronto. Our underground explorations continued to several rooms
that were used for growing mushrooms, part of the horticultural
and culinary efforts at Casa Loma that would feed the many guests
at the frequent social functions at the castle.
The Garage
Back on the main floor our next destination was the Horse Stables.
Sir Henry Pellatt owned several horses and Prince was the name of
his favourite horse. When Prince started to lose his teeth in old
age, Sir Henry had a set of false teeth made for him so his favourite
horse would still be able to chew his food. Horses in general lived
a great life at the Pellatt Estate: they enjoyed stalls built of
mahogany, and floors of Spanish tile laid in a herringbone pattern
to prevent them from slipping. Windows in the stables were hinged
to open at the top so the horses would not experience any draft.
Next to the Horse Stables is the Carriage Room, an impressive high-ceilinged
space with a hammer beamed ceiling and decorative artwork with a
wooden floor that is a foot thick.
The Stables, complete with mahogany stalls and a floor of Spanish
tile
As we walked back through the Tunnel to visit the main castle,
Lou explained that members of the “Society for Creative Anachronisms”
(SCA) performs medieval battle demonstrations every Sunday. The
SCA is an international organization dedicated to researching and
re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe and has
more than 30,000 members all around the world. Members, dressed
in clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, attend events which
may feature tournaments, arts exhibits, classes, workshops, dancing,
feasts, and more.
They are also available for school visits and bring medieval culture
to life.
The Great Hall
Back in the main castle I was impressed by the Great Hall, a grand
interior space 60 feet high, featuring a hammer beam roof. A 40
foot (12 m) high leaded glass window with 738 individual panes generously
lets in natural light into this imposing space and gargoyles adorn
the supporting columns. From here we turned into the Oak Room, whose
original name was the Napoleon Drawing Room. This was indeed Sir
Henry Pellatt’s drawing room whose walls feature solid oak
panels carved in the style of Grinling Gibbons, a famous Renaissance
carver. This room was featured in the movie “Chicago”
as Richard Gere’s law office.
One of the winding staircases leading to the top of the Scottish
Tower
Then we went all the way up to the 3rd floor past the Queens Own Rifles
Museum and started climbing up to the Scottish Tower. There are two
towers at Casa
Loma that can be accessed by the public. The Scottish Tower is
enclosed, and can be accessed through 3 sets of narrow staircases
above the third floor. Casa Loma is a castle that you can explore
from top to bottom, including the rafters and open spaces under the
roof! The Norman Tower features an open-air platform and is currently
closed to the public. I was amazed that all these different areas
are accessible to visitors, you can literally explore all the various
nooks and crannies of this historic structure.
View of the Norman Tower on a rainy day
Despite the drizzly weather, the view from the Scottish tower was
phenomenal. Casa Loma sits on a hill overlooking downtown Toronto,
with views as far as Hamilton and Niagara Falls on a clear day.
I had to line up at the winding staircases for people to file upstairs
and downstairs before it was my turn to get to the highest point
of the castle.
The Queens Own Rifles Museum is part of fulfilling the legacy of
Sir Henry Pellatt who always had a dream of turning the castle into
a military museum. A large poster on the 3rd floor recalls the significance
that Casa Loma played in world history: Casa Loma played an important
role in the development of sonar technology, when the British government
relocated their sonar research to Canada during WWII and chose underground
spaces at Casa Loma as the location for advancing this technology.
This invention played a significant role in turning the tide of
the war.
The third floor also features servants’ rooms – with
surprisingly generous proportions. Sir Henry Pellatt employed about
40 servants, the majority of whom lived on premises. The Round Room,
although appearing to have an elliptical shape, is completely round
including windows and doors as it is housed in the Norman Tower.
The Austin Room and the Pellatt Board Room are actually available
for rent for private and corporate functions.
Sir Henry's bedroom
The second floor of Casa
Loma houses Sir Henry and Lady Mary Pellatt’s private
living quarters. Sir Henry’s Suite is the smaller of the two,
and none of the furniture is original. In keeping with mysterious
medieval traditions, he had a secret storage area to the left of
the fireplace to store confidential documents. His bathroom is most
impressive, clad all around in Pavenzo marble. Spray nozzles controlled
by six porcelain taps completely surround the shower for a full-body
shower experience, way ahead of its time. Sir Henry’s love
of modern conveniences also becomes evident in the more than 50
telephones that were installed all throughout the castle. The alcove
in his bedroom actually held his electrical control centre from
where he was able to control the entire building. Considering that
Casa Loma was built almost 100 years ago, it is astounding to see
all these leading-edge installations that would not be out of place
in a high-end home in the 21st century.
Sitting area in Lady Mary's suite
Lady Pellatt’s Suite is decorated in soft pink colours and
has an entranceway to a large stone balcony and a beautiful sitting
area. In her later years Lady Pellatt was confined to a wheelchair
and spent most of her time in her spacious 3000 square foot suite.
The Girl Guides Exhibit pays tribute to her important role in this
organization which at the time was still in its infancy. Just across
the hallway is a Guest Suite which is decorated in a Chinoisery
style which complimented Sir Henry’s collection of lacquered
Oriental furnishings. On the way down to the first floor Lou pointed
out the castle’s original elevator to me: it is named “Otis
1” and was Toronto’s first elevator in a private home.
It is still functional today.
Landing on the front staircase
We took the grand wooden staircase down to the main floor where
Lou pointed out to me that the original staircase, complete with
imported marble from Italy, is actually located somewhere at the
bottom of the Atlantic as the transport vessel sank during the ocean
voyage. To the left of the Great Hall is the Library which holds
10,000 books. Lou pointed out that the hardwood floor is the source
of an optical illusion: when you look straight down, all the floor
boards appear to be the same colour. But when you look away in the
distance in one direction, one floor stripe appears light, the other
one beside it dark. Then, when you face the other way, the same
stripe now appears dark, while the one beside it appears light.
The colours of the wooden planks just seem to magically switch.
The family logo “Devant Si Je Puisse” is featured
in an elaborate coat of arms on the ceiling of the Library. The
Dining Room right next to the Library is lined with walnut –
no expense was spared for this castle. A few steps to the left is
the Conservatory, for me the most visually stunning space in the
entire castle and also Sir Henry and Lady Mary’s favourite
place in the entire building. The magnificent bronze and glass doors
leading into the Conservatory were modeled after a set made in New
York for an Italian villa and at the time cost $10,000 to make.
Beautiful bronze and glass doors provide a glance into the Conservatory
During our visit, the Conservatory was used as a backdrop for wedding
photography, and indeed Casa
Loma is one of the favourite places in Toronto for people to
get married. Lou mentioned that it takes about two years to be able
to book a date for a wedding, and a few years ago one lady booked
her wedding date even though she did not even have a groom yet.
But in the two years before her wedding at Casa Loma she managed
to find her future husband. In the end her dream of a fairy-tale
wedding in this stunning castle came true. The black and pink marble
floor was imported from Italy while the marble facings on the flower
beds are from a quarry in Bancroft, Ontario. The flower beds were
heated with steam pipes to ensure the perfect soil temperature for
exotic plants.
Casa Loma - a popular place for weddings
Our tour was slowly coming to an end: we saw a Serving Room that
featured original furniture from Casa Loma. The stove in the nearby
kitchen was big enough to cook an entire ox. The long hallway, named
Peacock Alley, was designed to hold Sir Henry Pellatt’s substantial
art collection. Halfway down the hall is Sir Henry’s study,
which features two secret passageways: a secret staircase leads
upstairs to the second floor and another hidden staircase takes
you downstairs to the wine cellar whose ammonia and brine-filled
pipes were designed to chill the 1800 bottle wine and champagne
collection of Sir Henry.
To complete my tour I watched the “Pellatt Newsreel”
in the Billiard Room which recounts Sir Henry Pellatt’s life
story in a 22 minute docudrama narrated by famous Torontonian Colin
Mochrie (of “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” and “Whose
Line Is It Anyway”). The moving and still images together
with the narration provided an excellent summary of the ups and
downs of Sir Henry Pellatt’s life, who was truly one of the
most notable personalities in the history of Toronto.
Terrace on the south side of the castle
The Gardens of Casa Loma are astoundingly beautiful and were renovated
by the Garden Club of Toronto in 1989. Rare annuals and perennial
plants, sculptures and a fountain adorn five and a half acres of
well-kept grounds which offer some of the best vantage points to
take in the magnificence of this structure. A beautiful terrace
on the south side of the castle invites visitors to take a well-deserved
rest after an indepth exploration of this heritage building.
Casa Loma is
not only the second most important tourist attraction in Toronto,
it also offers plenty of special and seasonal events for locals
and travelers alike: summer events include Afternoon Tea events
which include interesting lectures and a delightful afternoon tea
buffet menu. Several Sunday Royal Brunches are offered which include
a wide range of gourmet hot and cold foods as well as a sweet table
and a free self-guided tour of the castle. The Casa Loma Kid’s
Club hosts such events as a Dragon Making Workshop as well as a
Become a Knight event. At the end of October Casa Loma becomes a
Haunted Mansion for Halloween; and the Middle Ages Come to Life
Sundays provide reenactments of the medieval period. There is always
something special going on at Casa Loma.
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