Casa Loma (Spanish translating to ‘Hill House’) is a prominent mansion and garden located in midtown Toronto, situated at an elevation of 140 metres above sea level. It was constructed between 1911 and 1914 as a residence for financier and founder of the Toronto Electric Light Company, Sir Henry Pellatt. Designed by architect E.J. Lennox, its unique character has made it a historic landmark representative of Gothic Revival style.
The house cost approximately $3.5 million and 299 workers to build, until construction was halted by the start of World War I. Encompassing 98 rooms covering nearly 65,000 square feet, it became the largest private residence in Canada.
Notable amenities included an elevator, an oven large enough to cook an ox, two vertical passages for pipe organs, a pool, three bowling alleys, and two secret passages in the ground floor office. Spanning three stories, the third floor was left largely unfinished, and today serves as the Regimental Museum for The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.
Due to financial difficulties suffered during the post-war depression, Pellatt resided in Casa Loma for less than a decade, until 1923. In the 1920s, it operated briefly as a luxury hotel, becoming a popular evening hot spot for wealthy Americans during Prohibition. It was eventually seized by the city for unpaid taxes, and nowadays has become a museum and tourist attraction that hosts a number of seasonal events, such as the Legends of Horror haunted house at Halloween, and the summertime Symphony in the Gardens concert series.
We spent a couple hours during a gloomy weekend afternoon exploring Casa Loma. Admission was $30 per person, granting access through the estate, including the Secret Garden; the underground tunnels; and the towers, where we could admire sweeping views overlooking the city.























Looks like a fun castle to explore! Love your pictures!
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What a beautiful and impressive mansion! I love touring historical homes and absolutely love the architecture and the interior.
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Definitely an impressive home. Thanks for reading!
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… was first there many years ago…thanks for the tour
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Thanks for reading!
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Nice post on Casa Loma, a curious pastiche of a European castle in the middle of Toronto. Your photos show perfectly well how its interior illustrates the opulence of the affluent class lifestyle at that time.
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Interesting indeed to observe the lifestyle of excess. Apparently this home had 50+ telephones when the entire city of Toronto had only 200 installed.
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How gorgeous. I desperately want to go up into the tower.
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Quite a few tight staircases to get up there but it was worthwhile for the view from the top!
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Wow, I wouldn’t have expected such a distinctively-European structure in Toronto! Love the Gothic details in the walls: there appears to be a somber atmosphere to it, perhaps a haunted one. I’m sure it’d make for a fun adventure when Halloween comes around! I appreciate you sharing this lovely gem. ๐
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They were actually already setting up for their annual Halloween event (Legends of Horror) so we got to see some of that when we went through the garden and tunnels. Spooky ๐
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It’s really nice, I went here on my first trip to Toronto. I don’t remember the dungeons, but I do remember the views.
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It is a cool place, can’t believe I never made it there in all my years of growing up in Toronto.
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wow what a place! I would love to explore it!
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It was a fun way to spend a couple hours for sure.
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Such a beautiful gallery of shots! This looks like a fun location to visit!
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It was! Thanks for reading ๐
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I’ve never heard of this place. I’ll definitely need to check it out whenever I get back to Toronto!
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It’s worth a visit. It was my first time there despite being a Toronto resident all my life!
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The architecture is so weird… It seems so fun to explore this castle ! Love it ๐
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This was a fun place to visit in Toronto! You forgot to mention all the films that have used this location ๐
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Youโre right, I totally forgot to mention that! There are quite a few, most recently the Handmaidโs Tale tv series.
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Wow!! Just wow!!
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Fascinating place! Love the old automobile collection. Not so much some of the interior design elements.
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The interior design does not appeal to me either, but as Lookoom commented above, itโs an interesting reflection of affluent class lifestyle at that time. Fascinating place to explore indeed!
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It was probably the third bowling alley that broke the bank. I can see having two bowling alleys in your house, but three seems like overkill… As it happens, we’re in the middle of installing our second bowling alley, so thank you for this post. I’ve learned my lesson. This shall be out last bowling alley.
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Hehehe, you are actually right. According to Wikipedia, they never managed to finish the last two bowling alleys so it did (at least in part) push them past the edge of fiscal responsibility. I wonder how many bowling shoes they owned…
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Wow stunning mansion with quite a story! Love the photos, hope you had a great time there! ๐
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I did! Thanks for reading ๐
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