Casa Loma
Get off the subway at the Dupont station and walk north. On the way to Casa Loma, stop in at the Toronto archives building to the right. In the lobby, you can view displays highlighting features of the history or geography of the city. The archives building was built in 1992 on land expropriated in the 1960's for the Spadina Expressway. The expressway was cancelled in 1971.
Proceed north towards the Baldwin Steps and climb up the steps. Fourteen thousand years ago, this was the shoreline of Lake Iroquois, the predecessor of Lake Ontario.
You're almost there. At the top of the hill, turn left and look for the parking lot full of tour buses.
Although it's often described as a "castle", the word "mansion" is more appropriate. Completed in 1914, Casa Loma was the dream home of financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. A decade later his wealth disappeared, and he was forced to turn over the property to the city to pay his municipal taxes. After languishing for another decade, the Kiwanis club took over the operation of the mansion in 1937.
View from the parking lot.
View from the east of the mansion.
An opulent bedroom.
View towards downtown from the tower.