Casa Loma
Gothic Revival mansion of 1914 on the escarpment above midtown, now a house museum
Casa Loma, Spanish for 'hill house', was built between 1911 and 1914 for the financier and soldier Sir Henry Pellatt, who had made his money in electricity generation. The architect was E. J. Lennox, responsible for Toronto's Old City Hall. With 98 rooms over some 6,000 square metres it was the largest private house in Canada, standing on the brow of the escarpment about 140 metres above sea level, with long views south over the city centre.
Pellatt lived here for less than a decade before financial reverses and an enormous tax bill forced him out, and the City of Toronto took the property in 1933. Since 1937 it has been run as a visitor attraction, latterly by the Liberty Group under a city lease. Visitors see the great hall with its oak-beamed ceiling, the conservatory, the library, Sir Henry's suite and its secret stairways, the towers, the five acres of gardens, and an 800-foot tunnel leading to the stables and carriage house.
Highlights
- Great hall with a hammer-beam ceiling nearly 20 metres high
- Scottish and Norman towers with views over Toronto
- 800-foot tunnel to the stables and carriage house
- Terraced gardens open from spring to autumn
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