After a tiring night yesterday...(u know y, sat up to finish the blogs), we got up @ 7 am.
With a quick shower and ample lot of time for dressing up, we finally left for our complimentary breakfast around 8.30 am. We had planned to visit the TORONTO landmarks today as the weather forcast was told theres gonna be shower. And knowing for sure Niagara Falls will be busy to with the memorial day, we thought it was a wise decision visiting TORONTO. Of course Toronto's weather too had rain showers today. so we decided to visit the indoor themes in Toronto. When we started our 1 and half hour journey, it was mystical.Half the way the rain started to pour down heavily. Ravi found a hard time to drive for quite sometime. Then when we crossed the showers, it was pleasant. We reached CASA LOMA , our planned destination spot for the day. The parking lot has a charge of $2.00 and after each half hour the amount increase considerably. We took the CITY PASS which consists of 6 destination spots of TORONTO covered. It is wise to out money in CITY PASS then buying them individually which costs a lot more!!
We went inside the castle, the Guides were in the front telling us what we have to do in the castle. He told us to watch the movie which is played every half hour about how the castle came to exsistance and who built it and more about the person. Once the movie was over , we were given an audio device (MP3 PORTABLE) which acts like a guided tour across each room. Which ever room u enter, there is a number for the room. Entering the number in the device , we get a narration about the room.
Like this we visited every room in the CASTLE (that were accessible) uptil the tower. Then we concluded our visit by visting the Garden behind the Castle.I was too thirsty and hungry by the end of the tour at around 1 pm.
MORE ABOUT CASA LOMA
Casa Loma is a Spanish name for the House on a Hill. It is the home of financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt and a major tourist attraction in Toronto.
LAYOUT
Casa Loma has five acres of gardens. An underground tunnel connects Casa Loma to The Stables (Garage, Potting Shed, Stalls, Carriage Room and Tack Rooms).
MAIN FLOOR
- Great Hall
- Library
- Dining Room
- The Conservatory
- Serving Room
- Peacock Alley
- Sir Henry's Study
- Smoking Room
- Billiard Room
- Oak Room
Second floor
- Sir Henry's Suite
- Sir Henry's Bathroom
- Lady Pellatt's Suite
- Lady Pellatt's Bathroom
- Girl Guides Exhibit
- Guest Suite
- Windsor Room
- Round Room
Third floor
- The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum
- Stairs to Towers
- The Kiwanis Room
- The Garden Room
- Servant's Room
- The Austin Room
Basement
- Gift Shop (Bowling lanes and shooting range - never completed)
- Castle Café (Gymnasium - never completed)
- Swimming Pool (Never completed)
- Wine Cellar
- Tunnel to Stables
Casa Loma is on Austin Terrace, at the north end of Spadina Road on an escarpment (Davenport Hill) above Davenport Road.
History
Sir Henry commissioned Canadian architect E.J. Lennox to design Casa Loma with construction beginning in 1911, starting with the massive stables a few hundred feet north of the main building. The stables were used as a construction site for the castle, with some of the machinery still remaining in the rooms under the stables. The house cost approximately $3.5 million and took a team of 300 workers three years to build from start to finish. Upon completion in 1914, at 98 rooms, it was the largest private residence in North America. Notable amenities included an elevator, an oven large enough to cook a steer, two vertical passages for pipe organs, central vacuum, two secret passages in Sir Henry's ground-floor office and three bowling alleys (never completed).
Many of the rooms were left unfinished, and today serve as the Regimental Museum for The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. Pellatt joined the Regiment as a Riflemanand rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the Commanding Officer. He was knighted for his dedication to the Regiment. Later, Pellatt served as the Honorary Colonel and was promoted to Major-General upon retirement.
During the Depression, Toronto increased Casa Loma's annual property taxes from $400 to $1,200, and Pellatt—already experiencing financial difficulties—was forced to auction off $1.5-million in art and furnishings for $250,000 during bankruptcy hearings. Sir Henry was able to enjoy life in the castle for ten years, leaving in 1923.
Vacant while proposals were considered for its future use, architect William Sparling put forward a proposal to convert the house to a luxury hotel in 1925. A long term lease was granted to Sparling to open a hotel within Casa Loma. He began completing the Great Hall and the Billiard Room, areas that Sir Henry had never finished. Sparling planned to add two large wings to the main building, one to the east and to the west, each wing containing 96 full suites and 56 rooms. At an estimated cost of $1 million for each wing, they were never built. The hotel failed in 1929.
During the late 1920s Casa Loma was also a popular nightspot. The Orange Blossoms, later known as Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, played there for eight months in 1927–1928. Shortly thereafter, they went on tour of North America and became a major Swing Era dance band.
The city seized Casa Loma in 1933 for $27,303 in back taxes.
Contrary to popular belief, Casa Loma has never been an official residence of either the city or the Province of Ontario. In 1937 it was opened to the public for the first time as a tourist attraction operated by the Kiwanis Club of Toronto. Coincidentally, this is the same year that Chorley Park, the Government House of Ontario was closed by the provincial government.
During World War II, Casa Loma was used to conceal research on sonar, and for construction of sonar devices for U-boat detection. The chateau is still operated by the Kiwanis Club. Today it is one of Toronto's most popular tourist attractions.
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