I have been meaning to visit Casa Loma since the first time I came to Toronto (as an adult) about six years ago, but somehow only got around to it for the first time this weekend! My Mum came to visit me for the weekend, and we didn’t waste a single minute – our days were filled with delicious meals, exploring the city, long dog walks and a ton of other good stuff! One of the first things we did though was visit the castle – which didn’t disappoint!
When we were waiting in line to get in, the two ladies ahead of us were talking about their visit to Hearst Castle in California, and I was shamelessly listening in, and letting my expectations soar way out of proportion as they compared the two…I was hardly disappointed by Casa Loma, but I can hardly let myself believe that it compares to Hearst, even though I’ve yet to see it for myself…(someday!).
The story goes that Sir Henry Pellatt was a mega-rich financier who took over his family brokerage firm and made millions and decided to have the estate built for his wife – Lady Mary Pellatt – in 1911. They lived in it for a while until the taxes on the property went up about 2000% right as he was dealing with some bad investments and the depression starting. The couple auctioned off millions of dollars worth of furniture and art to try to keep afloat, but it didn’t work and they were forced to give up the estate. We took the audio tour that was packed with really interesting history, and details about the things Pellatt was into, but to be completely honest the part of the tour that interested me most was when they mentioned, in passing, that the castle was open to the public as a night club for a really short period in the late 1920′s. After hearing that I couldn’t help walking around imagining the castle as something out of a Fitzgerald novel, and kind of ignoring the audio guide for a while…
At one point we saw on the map that there was a swimming pool in the basement, and my Mom and I got really excited to see a big, ornate, fancy old-fashioned marble swimming pool….but as it turned out it was never completed and it just looked like a big cement hole in the ground. (I definitely need to get myself to Hearst Castle soon and see those swimming pools!)…
But Casa Loma was wonderful and totally lived up to most of my expectations. The gardens were dreamy, and the castle had hidden doorways in the wall next to the fireplace that led to secret stairways, and the library had giant old oak bookcases that could hold up to 10 000 books – although the tour guide told us that the Pellatt’s didn’t do much reading. It always feels harder to imagine what a place must have been like in its prime when there are hundreds of tourists taking photos and milling about – my favourite was visiting Versailles off-season when we were free to roam around and sometimes we wouldn’t come across another visitor for almost an hour! – Casa Loma wasn’t like that, but the place is beautiful, and right in the middle of the city! If you’re ever in Toronto, it’s worth a visit for sure!
The rest of the weekend was equally wonderful, spent eating delicious meals, sipping iced coffees, watching old Katherine Hepburn movies in the air conditioning, and even an afternoon at a spa! It’s hard for me sometimes being far from my family for the first time, but it just makes me appreciate weekends like these all the more!
Hi, Glad you guys visited Casa Loma. I went a few years back with Ron and we had found it quite interesting
So nice to read you again! It truly was a great weekend so filled with fun and interesting activities, but mostly just fun to spend time together. No doubt you will investigate the casa loma club era. Let me know if you find anything interesting!