Casa Loma

Casa Loma stands on a hill overlooking downtown Toronto, Canada, built between 1911 and 1914 for the financier Sir Henry Pellatt to a design by the architect E. J. Lennox in a Gothic Revival castle style inspired by European castles Pellatt admired on his travels. Its features include turrets, secret passages, an oak-paneled great hall, a conservatory, and stables connected to the main house by a long underground tunnel, all built with then-novel amenities such as elevators, electric lighting and a partial central vacuum system throughout the mansion. Pellatt lost the house within a decade of its completion after financial reverses, and the city of Toronto later took ownership of the property, which now operates as a museum and event venue. It remains one of the largest and most visited historic houses in Canada.