There aren’t many castles in North America, but Casa Loma, the historic home of Sir Henry Pellatt, is certainly as close as you’ll find in Canada.
Indeed, Casa Loma in Toronto, Ontario, is considered the largest private residence ever built in Canada.
What’s at Casa Loma?
Sir Henry Pellatt set out to build a house on the hill. His love for fine arts and architecture, plus early travels to Europe, inspired the home he had built in 1914.
Today, Casa Loma is owned by the city of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and operated by the Liberty Entertainment Group as a treasured landmark for all to visit and enjoy.
The interior of Casa Loma is as castle-like as its exterior. There are three floors in the house, along with a basement and stables and gardens.
Fast Fact: Casa Loma has 98 rooms, making it enormous!
The first floor, as you’d expect, is the main floor and has all of the rooms you’d need for a businessman, and Major-General, like Pellatt, to need to entertain and live up to his position as the Knight Principal of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor.
What are the First Floor Rooms Like in Casa Loma?
Close family friends and relatives were typically entertained in the home’s library. It opened onto the terrace and gardens, which were a great place to explore if you tired of the comfy couches, custom-made rugs, curio cabinets and oriental porcelain.
Close family friends and relatives were typically entertained in the home’s library.
It opened onto the terrace and gardens, which were a great place to explore if you tired of the comfy couches, custom-made rugs, curio cabinets and oriental porcelain.
And of course, libraries have books, so there are enough glass fronted shelves to hold over 10,000 volumes.
The dining room was more like a banquet hall, with room for up to 100 guests to be served a formal dinner.
Some of the room’s features include carved wood paneling with Corinthian columns, a recessed dome light that created a glowing dome over the dining room table, and an adjoining alcove for small orchestras to provide dinner music.
There are numerous other rooms on the main floor of this stately home, including work areas like the serving room, along with relaxing areas like the studies, smoking and billiards rooms.
What’s on the Second Floor?
The second floor provides spacious suites for both Sir Henry and Lady Pellatt, along with five large guest suites.
It’s interesting to note that during the time the Pellatt family lived here, there wasn’t a staircase from the first to the second floor.
The planned marble staircase had been lost after being shipped from Scotland during WWI.
The staircase I climbed had been added in 1925 when the building was converted to a luxury hotel.
It was used in that capacity from 1926 to 1929.
Sir Henry’s vision for Casa Loma had been that it would become a military museum or art gallery, which you can readily see display on the second floor hallways. In fact, his private art collection was considered the largest in Canada. The Austin room contains a lot of fascinating military history.
Canada’s military intelligence operated The Corps of Guides (CoG) and Toronto Cyclists.
Bicycles were easier than horses to get around the city, although they used both, around the time of WWI.
Casa Loma was the location of top secret operations with the ASDIC (Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee) Production Laboratory from 1941 – 1945.
Camp X, on the shores of Lake Ontario, provided a training area for a secret spy base that changed the world.
Can You Get to the Towers of Casa Loma?
Servant rooms were on the third floor along with the stairs to the towers. You can go up them today to get a view of Toronto.
You can also get a lot of wind in your face!
Linda’s Pick of the Displays
With its luxurious second-floor personal apartments for Casa Loma’s owners, this was by far my favorite area. Not even the first floor library could intrigue me more!
Lady Mary Pellatt, whose personal suite I absolutely loved, also contributed a lot to Toronto and Canadian society. She was a Daughter of the Empire and gave both time and money to many causes. They include St. John’s Ambulance and the Girl Guides of Canada. Indeed, she was a trailblazer in leading girls to become active, involved citizens.
Back in the early 1900s men spent their evenings together on the first floor in such places as the smoking and billiards rooms.
Lady Mary, however, entertained friends and family in her private suit, which was likely why her suite was larger than her husband’s. It consisted of a bedroom, large sitting room solarium, bathroom and wardrobe.
Beyond the grandeur of the furnishings and wall coverings, the most intriguing part of the second floor was the bathrooms.
When the house was built, indoor plumbing was unusual, but Sir Henry wanted the most modern bathrooms possible.
His was equipped with a toilet, bathtub, and a shower featuring six body sprays controlled by separate faucets!
Linda’s Road Trip Tips
The Toronto Pearson International Airport is Canada’s largest and busiest airport. So, chances are high that when I leave the country I’ll be flying through it.
I’ve also attended numerous conferences in Toronto, so have had lots of reasons to visit the city.
Most of the time, I’ve used downtown hotels to be close to all the action, and Casa Loma is close enough to visit even if you don’t have a lot of time.
While the subway is the fastest and easiest, you can also use public transit or walk (about an hour).
Toronto has lots of museums, but if you don’t have a lot of time I highly recommend the Hockey Hall of Fame Museum. It covers hockey greats of the past century from around the world. The Art Gallery of Ontario was another favorite of mine, especially the model ship collection.
Who Should Visit Casa Loma?
Casa Loma is a must-see for locals and visitors to Toronto alike. Since there really aren’t any castles around, it provides a glimpse into what a trip to Europe is like.
The signage throughout the museum gives lots of insights into Canada’s history as well as the city of Toronto. It’s definitely a look, see, and read kind of museum though, so young children would likely find it tedious.
How Do You Visit Casa Loma?
Casa Loma is located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at 1 Austin Terrace.
Check the current costs and visiting hours, along with planned events, at the Casa Loma website.
Check out the Casa Loma Facebook page for upcoming information.
Take a virtual tour of Casa Loma on YouTube.
Plan your itinerary with Google maps. If you enjoyed this article, please pin it to share later.
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