Sir Henry Pellatt:

King of Casa Loma

Castle Falling Down

Bits and pieces of the castle have been falling down around the structure for a number of years, but the mortar decay  has been increasing in the last few years. The situation has become so serious sectors of the exterior have been cordoned off to prevent injuries to the public.

As it stands the City of Toronto is responsible for maintaining the physical structure of the castle, however their efforts have either been too little or not good enough. The result has been that the mortar and some of the stones have been falling out. There is a suspicion that the city is trying to elbow in on the Kiwanis' territory, and may be trying to take over the operations of the site.

Maintaining and repairing such a structure is a constant battle. It is a continuous process that needs to be undertaken in stages. In the 90s a 10-month project to restore the stables was completed. The floors were  repaired and and resurfaced in the 80s. Asbestos insulation was removed from the tunnel,  pointing on the  wall around the grounds was done, railings installed, gardens planned, planted and replanted, work was undertaken on the potting shed,  the entrance tower was restored and work is proceeding on the east, the Norman, tower. 

As you can appreciate, work goes on to  keep ahead of the inexorable will and irrepressible drive of nature to reduce man-made structures to rubble.

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