By Morgan Dumas and Diti Dumas
Have you ever wondered how Casa Loma came to be one of Toronto’s top 10 tourist attractions and hospitality venues?
It had always been Sir Henry Pellatt’s dream to have a castle on the brow of a hill overlooking Toronto. Sir Henry Pellatt was a soldier, financier, industrialist and most importantly, a hopeless romantic. After graduating from Upper Canada College, Pellatt, the eldest of six children decided to travel the world. All through his life, he always had a vast interest in art, antiques, military traditions and most importantly, castles.
Throughout his young adulthood he accumulated a large amount of wealth through a variety of business ventures including investing in The Northwest Land Company and the Canadian Pacific Railroad. From these investments, he earned the large sum of $4 million which he reinvested in Canadian Multi-National Power companies. Pellatt was responsible for the Electric Development Company of Ontario and had the first Canadian Generating Station built in Niagara Falls. King Edward VII knighted him and it was after this occasion that he was finally ready to build his dream, a castle on top of a hill.
With the help of well-known Toronto architect Edward J. Lennox, Sir Henry Pellatt worked to combine and compile all of his favourite castle sketches he had drawn into one large structure which would soon be his own castle. The construction began in 1911 on 25 acres of land that he had purchased for him and his wife, Mary. The previous owners had named the land “house on the hill” or Casa Loma. After personally interviewing hundreds of workman and sending for a stonemason all the way from Scotland the building began. It took 3 years to build, $3,500,000 and more than 300 workers. Casa Loma was more than just a castle as it featured many technologies that were unheard of at the time including; wiring for electric power, a central vacuum system, its own telephone exchange with 59 telephones and an oven so large you could cook an entire ox inside. He also spent another $1.5 million on the many different pieces to furnish the castle.
In June 1914 Sir Henry and his family moved into the castle, even though all the construction was yet to be finished. Shortly after, World War 1 occurred and the remaining construction was put on hold. By the 1920’s, the cost of the house’s upkeep was ever-increasing and Pellatt’s investment business was suffering due to the challenging economic times. In 1923, the Home Bank went bankrupt with Pellatt’s firm owing $1,700,000. When Lady Pellatt died of a heart attack shortly after, Sir Henry gave up the castle and never returned as a resident again. Ironically, for someone that once had a fortune of $17,000,000, he died in 1939 at the age of 80 with only $35,000 left to his name. However, wealth was not what made this man who he was, but rather his achievements and the creation of the castle which has become a lasting legacy in Toronto.
Once the family left the castle, the city councillors had to decide what to do with it. During this time it was emptied of all their belongings and heavily vandalized (some of which you can still notice today). In 1937, the Kiwanis Club of Toronto petitioned the city to allow them to take over the building and restore it and use it to benefit the public. After the Germans bombed the manufacturing plant in Britain during World War II, the manufacturing of the ASDIC devices was secretly relocated to Canada. The engineer who was responsible, chose Casa Loma, because as he put it “Who would suspect a freak castle with dances every Saturday night?” He was correct, no one suspected for more than a decade until the city councillors became aware of what was going on in the basement.
Since 1937, the Kiwanis Club has continued to operate Casa Loma (although it is owned by the city). It is financially self-sufficient and contributes close to $1 million annually to the city in taxes and license fees. Any net-profits from Casa Loma’s operations support a vast range of the Kiwanis Club’s charitable works.
Casa Loma is an important part of Toronto’s history, and often many people have thought it is one of the most romantic things to ever happen in Toronto. It is also considered to be one of the most glamorous landmarks in the city and hosts many breath-taking weddings in the castle and on the gorgeous grounds.
Diti Dumas is a Sales Representative with Royal LePage R.E.S. Ltd./JOHNSTON & DANIEL DIVISION, Brokerage. Diti is a regular contributor to the Muddy York Blog. Diti’s website is located at www.ditidumas.com.
Morgan Dumas is an aspiring writer and journalism student from Ryerson University in Toronto.
