Living the dream and remembering the Bagman COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM - Page 76 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Sunday 18 September – part two: exploring a beautiful property…
Casa Loma was the brainchild of Sir Henry Pellatt, who made a fortune in hydroelectric power in the early 1900s, harnessing the strength of Niagara Falls for this purpose. He decided to build himself a castle and it was created by E.J. Lennox, who was also responsible for Toronto’s Old City Hall. Construction started in 1911 with the stables, potting shed and hunting lodge, which housed servants’ quarters. The house itself cost $3.5 million (Canadian) and took 300 workers three years to build, hardly surprising, given it had a total of 98 rooms! It was the largest private residence in Canada at the time it was built.
However, due to the outbreak of World War I, work was never finished. The pool and three bowling alleys, the latter planned for the basement, were never completed and parts of the third floor were left unfinished, which as you’ll see in due course is today home to the Regimental Museum for the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.
The house had a pretty torrid time after the war, with property taxes increased from a mere $600 a year to $1,000 a month. That was it for Pellatt. As you’ll see when we go through the rooms, he was forced to auction off a number of items, totalling $1.5 million in art and $250,000 in furnishings and eventually moved out in 1923.
After that, it became a hotel for a short time. Can you imagine staying here? Sign me up! Then during Prohibition, it was a popular nightspot. However, in 1933, the city of Toronto seized Casa Loma for more than $27,000 in back taxes. By this point, it was exceptionally run down, and it came close to being demolished. A few years later, it was leased to a private company, who started to market it as a tourist attraction.
During the Second World War, Casa Loma was used to conceal research on sonar for detecting U-boats. The work was literally just down in an area behind a sheet that had an “under repairs” sign on it. Howe they got away with that, I do not know!
From 1997 to 2012, the castle underwent a $33 million restoration, mainly of the exterior, which was funded by the city. That restoration is now continuing, with $7.4 million currently being spent on the interior, with improvements including installing air conditioning and eventually, there will be fine dining on site. Now that sounds good to me!
Ok, so now you know all about it, are you ready for a tour? You are? Ok then, off we go…
This is the Oak Room, originally called the Napoleon Drawing Room, which was where Pellatt would entertain important guests. The oak wall panelling was designed to complement a carving called the Gibbon’s Wreath, but sadly this was auctioned off in the 1920s.
This is the smoking/billiard room, and originally featured a massive Spanish mahogany pool table, complete with 26 cues and 30 ivory balls. Again, this was sold at auction in the 1920s. I personally found this room a bit odd, especially the miniature cannon on the floor.
Next up was the library, which is home to around 10,000 books. The ceiling features the Pellatt coat of arms, and it was clear by the way the room was laid out, there was going to be a wedding here later…
… and that proved to be the case when we looked in the conservatory. I guess the ceremony will be happening here then. I dread to think how much it costs to get married here.
The dining room was where Pellatt would have hosted parties for up to 100 guests. Judging by the size of it, I assume they weren’t sitting down for a meal…. Pellatt had recessed lighting put into this room, and it was one of the first places in Canada to have anything like it.
This is the serving room, which was inspired by the excavations at Pompeii. Although it looks very grand, this was actually a staging area, where kitchen staff would bring food up and put it here for the wait staff to take it in.
This is Sir Henry’s study, which originally featured a desk that was an exact copy of Napoleon’s writing desk.
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Wow. Talk about how the other half lives... Pre-WWI, I can't even imagine!
It looks to be in pretty good shape still, their restoration efforts doing well.
It looks beautiful for the wedding set up! What a place to get married.
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When I looked at the photo, my first thought was it was a remote control, then I was like "what?" as we didn't have one with us, for obvious reasons. I eventually zoomed in on it and it's our London 2012 umbrella. Ironically, we carry it with us on our trips and it must be our good luck charm, as we've never actually used it!
That's hilarious! I bet the moment you don't bring it, you'll need it. That's what always happens to us when we leave our raincoats or umbrellas in the room.
I am sure that you and Mark have already booked a return trip to the CN Tower to do the "edge walk". RIGHT??? That looks ridiculous but with all of the rigging "very safe". Still not sure if I could stand the internal stress. Casa Loma is gorgeous. The wedding costs would be quite pricey I am sure. (Probably NOT as bad as one at WDW especially the new one at Magic Kingdom reported to start at $180,000.)
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Last edited by rhinohunter; 12-14-2016 at 10:43 AM..
Reason: Remove fat finger typing errors.
Wow. Talk about how the other half lives... Pre-WWI, I can't even imagine!
No I can't either... I would love to travel back in time to experience it in all its glory though. I bet it was quite something.
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It looks to be in pretty good shape still, their restoration efforts doing well.
It looks beautiful for the wedding set up! What a place to get married.
We were talking about that and wondering how much it would cost - we bet a heck of a lot!
That's hilarious! I bet the moment you don't bring it, you'll need it. That's what always happens to us when we leave our raincoats or umbrellas in the room.
That's why it lives in the suitcase. Of course, you're right, it's the one day it stays living in the suitcase while we're on vacation that we'll be cursing, saying "we should've brought it with us..."
I am sure that you and Mark have already booked a return trip to the CN Tower to do the "edge walk". RIGHT???
What do you think?
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That looks ridiculous but with all of the rigging "very safe". Still not sure if I could stand the internal stress.
Me neither. I don't mind heights, but that is too much for my liking...
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Casa Loma is gorgeous. The wedding costs would be quite pricey I am sure. (Probably NOT as bad as one at WDW especially the new one at Magic Kingdom reported to start at $180,000.)
I remember seeing that. Who (except for the crazy super rich of course) can afford that? Nuts!
Casa Loma is quite the place and you gave a nice background on it! It will be interesting to see how the improvements pan out and a fine dining restaurant, certainly sounds intriguing! Looking at the photos the place certainly has a French feel to it!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
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Casa Loma is quite the place and you gave a nice background on it! It will be interesting to see how the improvements pan out and a fine dining restaurant, certainly sounds intriguing! Looking at the photos the place certainly has a French feel to it!
I can imagine the fine dining restaurant will be a real treat and I'd certainly love to try it out.
Sunday 18 September – part three: made for Royalty….
We made our way outside on to the back terrace…
It had some magnificent views of the house…
… and over to Toronto in the distance – the reason it was built here.
Once again, as you can see from the photos, it was a perfect day for sightseeing. It was hot today and pretty humid, and the weather forecast had threatened showers, but there looked to be little likelihood of that right now.
We headed back inside, and made our way upstairs, stopping at the mezzanine. When the Pellatts lived here, there was no staircase connecting the Great Hall below with the second floor. The plan was that it would be a marble staircase, but it was being shipped from Scotland, and got lost in transit during World War I. Eventually, the staircase was put in when the house was converted to a hotel.
From here, we had some good views of the Great Hall below:
This is the Windsor Room, named after our Royal family – but of course, you knew that, right? Sir Henry apparently always hoped that Royalty would come and stay at Casa Loma, but sadly it didn’t happen. It’s a shame, as I’m sure they would’ve appreciated it. The bed is a very unique walnut one, dating back to the early 19th century, and has cherub like carvings, representing the goddess of love, Venus.
The Round Room gets its name from the fact it’s perfectly round, as it’s at the base of the open tower.
Next: I wasn’t expecting to see this on the floor!
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That back garden area is gorgeous! I see why it was built in that location. I mean, they didn't have the skyscrapers back then, but the view is still amazing! This is definitely on our list now to visit - the next time we're in Toronto. (and as long as the Maple Leafs are there - which they will be - we'll be back again!)
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Tanya
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It was the largest private residence in Canada at the time it was built. 
That was it for Pellatt. As you’ll see when we go through the rooms, he was forced to auction off a number of items, totalling $1.5 million in art and $250,000 in furnishings and eventually moved out in 1923. 
Then during Prohibition, it was a popular nightspot. However, in 1933, the city of Toronto seized Casa Loma for more than $27,000 in back taxes. By this point, it was exceptionally run down, and it came close to being demolished. A few years later, it was leased to a private company, who started to market it as a tourist attraction. 
I dread to think how much it costs to get married here. 
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