Casa Loma: Millionaires, Medievalism, and Modernity in Torontos Gilded AgeEdited by Matthew M. Reeve and Michael Windover (MQUP, 2023)Casa Lomas complex relationship with the past has long made documenting its history a difficult task. Extended periods in a derelict state, numerous changes of management, and poor record-keeping have all conspired towards the buildings story remaining piecemeal. Matthew Reeves, Michael Windover, and several contributing authors have finally given Torontos famous castle the comprehensive, scholarly attention it has long deserved.Opening chapters highlight the context informing the castles conception in the early 1900s, and emphasize the design approach of its patron, Sir Henry Pellattfounder of the Toronto Electric Light Company and an early investor in the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the North West Land Company, and builder of Canadas first hydro-generating plant at Niagara Fallsand Canadian architect E.J. Lennox. Adorned with battlements and equipped with secret passageways, their creation paid homage to Europes castles.In its early years, Sir Henry Pellatt and Lady Pellatt used their home to host extravagant military and arts events for the wealthy, who strived for associations with British imperialism, at a time when the city was becoming increasingly independent and modern.The book then turns to the history of the castle from 1920 to the present day. A particularly noteworthy discussion examines the many failed plans for the castle throughout its life, including proposals to develop it as a war museum and art gallery, and to expand it as a high-end hotel.As a whole, the book documents the gradual transition of Casa Loma from being the citys preeminent private address playing host to the elite few, to a now popular quasi-public event venue and tourist attraction. Special attention to the changing social, cultural and political factors informing the city and its relationship with the castle underpin the story. In this way, the book also documents the development of a nation originally anxious with its British roots at the turn of the 19th centuryto one that has comfortably grown into its own, as reflected by its architecture, over a hundred years later.Wonderfully illustrated with rare drawings and perspectives, Casa Loma is a thorough look at an eclectic architectural icon of Torontoa relic from the last moments of Old World aristocracy in Toronto, and a place that remains a curiosity as the city around it continues to outgrow its past.As appeared in theFebruary 2025issue of Canadian Architect magazine The post Book Review: Casa LomaMillionaires, Medievalism, and Modernity in Torontos Gilded Age appeared first on Canadian Architect.