This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Casa Loma, Toronto's most famous historic site, and its owner, Sir Henry Pellatt.
Casa Loma took 300 men three years to build at a cost of $3.5 million. Completed in 1914, the castle was enjoyed by Pellatt for only ten years before bankruptcy took it from his hands. Today, Casa Loma is owned and operated by the City of Toronto. This book includes a visual tour of the building as it is today, restored to its turn-of-the-century splendour.
As well, author and historian Bill Freeman tells the colourful story of Pellatt's life, accompanied by a rich variety of archival images. Pellatt was an entrepreneurial and domineering Toronto financier with a central role in the city's financial life at the turn of the century. He lost his fortune and ended his days in very modest circumstances, but he left the city a dramatic landmark building.
Author Bill Freeman takes readers on a full tour of this dramatic hillside castle, illustrated with full-colour photographs by Vincenzo Pietropaolo.