5 Castles in North America and the Stories Behind Them

December 17, 2014 Sean McLachlan

Castles are one of the prime tourist attractions of Europe and the Middle East. These romantic fortresses and royal homes make for great photographs and fascinating reading. They offer an insight into history and are an easy sell to kids. But you don’t have to cross the Atlantic to see them. Back around the turn of the last century, there was a boom in the number of millionaires in Canada and the United States. Industry was expanding and fortunes were being made, for some. It was called the Gilded Age, golden for the rich, rotten for the working class. The new millionaires, many of whom started from modest circumstances, wanted to show off their wealth, and what better way to do that than to build a castle? After all, the rich in Europe had them. Castles starting popping up all across North America. And now, many of these exclusive playgrounds for the rich are open to visitors.

(above) Casa Loma and part of its garden. Photo courtesy flickr user InSapphoWeTrust.

Casa Loma

Familiar to every local schoolchild, Casa Loma (pictured above) is one of Toronto’s best-loved landmarks. This stately home was built by Sir Henry Pellat in 1914. Sir Pellat was one of a handful of millionaires who were said to “own” Canada. He made vast sums wiring Toronto for electricity and speculating in mining and other businesses. He poured much of his fortune into making his dream castle. The final price was $3.5 million, more than $40 million in today’s dollars.

Hallways of Italian marble lead to oak-paneled libraries filled with rare books, a soaring Great Hall that looks like something out of the Middle Ages, and a conservatory with a huge stained-glass skylight. Every room is filled with antiques, including Louis XIV furniture and suits of armor. There’s even an exact replica of the Coronation Chair from Westminster Abbey, where monarchs are crowned, as well as the Stone of Scone, the legendary coronation stone of Scottish kings.

Sadly, Pellat only got to live in his castle for a few years before unwise investments and an economic slump left him deeply in debt. He had to sell off Casa Loma. It was eventually reopened as a tourist attraction in 1937 and is a popular wedding venue and school field trip. The castle is also a favorite for filmmakers, with rooms being used in scenes in movies from Robocop to X-Men.

Classical statues in the English garden at Thornewood. Photo courtesy Joe Mabel.

Thornewood Castle

While Sir Pellat was building a replica castle in Toronto, millionaire Chester Thorne of Tacoma, Washington, was getting the real thing. In 1907, he bought a 400-year-old Elizabethan manor in England, dismantled it, and reassembled it on a beautiful spread of land by American Lake with a stunning view of Mount Rainier. It was all a gift for his beloved wife.

Thorne had an eye for period detail. The windows are Renaissance stained glass from European churches. The main oak staircase is older than the home itself and constructed in a medieval style that uses no nails.

Unlike Sir Pellat, Thorne kept his money and lived in his castle the rest of his life, cared for by 40 servants, plus 28 gardeners who tended the English garden that will make you feel like you’re at Hampton Court, not the outskirts of Tacoma!

While Thornewood Castle remains a private home, it offers a bed and breakfast and weddings.

Castle in North America - Castello di Amorosa

Castello di Amorosa. Photo courtesy Dhinal Chheda.

Castello di Amorosa Winery

Of all the North American castles, this one is the most authentic. Ironically, it’s also the most recent. It was built in the style of a 13th century castle from Tuscany by the owners of V. Sattui Winery near Calistoga, California, in the famous Napa Valley. It makes for an unusual stop on your wine tour.

So many faux medieval buildings turn out to be cheesy, but here the builders got it right. Standing in the main courtyard, you feel like you’re in one of the medieval castles of rural Italy, so much so that it comes as a bit of a shock to ascend one of the towers and see the parking lot right outside. The Great Hall is hits the eye with elaborate medieval scenes vividly painted on the walls. The people of the Middle Ages loved bright colors and would have felt at home here. There’s also a functioning Catholic chapel, a moat complete with drawbridge, and even a torture chamber for those who complain about the wine.

Like all good castles, it’s supposed to be haunted and there is, of course, a ghost tour. Considering Castello di Amorosa was completed in 2007, this must be the youngest ghost on record!

Aerial view of Boldt Castle. Photo courtesy Teresa Mitchell.

Boldt Castle

Another fine replica of a castle is found on Heart Island, one of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York. This one has a sad story attached to it. Back in 1900, the millionaire George Boldt, owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, decided to built a fairytale castle for his wife. Sadly, Boldt’s wife died in 1904 before it was finished. Boldt called the workmen and told them to put down their tools.

For 73 years the castle deteriorated until it was purchased and lovingly restored by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority. Now Boldt Castle draws visitors from both sides of the border who visit many of the 120 rooms, look out from the towers for lovely views of the river, and stroll in the Italian gardens. The restoration crew was careful to furnish the rooms the way Boldt had originally intended in a refined fin de siècle style.

Boldt Castle is available for weddings and the local yacht club is popular for New York’s and Canada’s well-to-do, who enjoy plying the waters around Heart Island and examining the castle’s rare steam-powered yacht from 1892. Renovations are continuing, so if you’ve already visited this compelling attraction, it’s worth a repeat visit.

The Roman pool at Hearst Castle. Photo courtesy Wikipedia user King of Hearts.

Hearst Castle

Of all the millionaires of the Gilded Age, the greatest had to have been newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who brought entertainment and news to the masses with sensational yellow journalism. He fomented war fever against Spain in 1898 and then made millions selling newspapers about the fighting. He was the model for the millionaire in Citizen Kane.

Near the end of his life he built this imposing modern castle of 165 rooms set within more than 125 acres of gardens and pools atop a wooded hill just outside San Simeon, California. Completed in 1947, Hearst Castle is like something from another time. Grandiose buildings such as this were things of the previous generation, but Hearst never did anything by half measures.

There are two vast, Classical-style pools, one inside and one outside, that look like something from a Roman emperor’s palace. The Gothic study has a vaulted wooden ceiling with Medieval-style paintings. The rooms are stuffed with Heart’s vast collection of art, with fine examples of ancient Egyptian statuary, Renaissance religious paintings, and a floor covered in a genuine Roman mosaic. The dining room is paneled in wood from early European churches and features Renaissance tapestries.

5 Places to See Amazing Mummy Collections (Outside of Egypt)

August 4, 2014 Sean McLachlan

Ancient Egypt is the object of endless fascination, and nothing quite fascinates as much as the strange lengths the Egyptians went through to preserve their dead. Mummies are a staple of any good archaeological museum. The best, of course, are in Egypt, where Cairo’s National Museum has several galleries of them. Small regional museums throughout the country are also full of mummies.

(above) Cartonnage of a priestess, adult, casing with a gilded face, named Tayesmutengebtiu, also called Tamut. Found in Thebes, 22nd Dynasty (c. 900 BC). © Trustees of the British Museum.

Sadly, Egypt has seen a fall in tourism thanks to political instability and a rash of public sexual harassment that seems to have become something of a national sport for some young Egyptian men. This is too bad, because the month I spent in Egypt back in 1991 is one of my most enjoyable travel memories. Times have changed, though, and it’s understandable that many travelers are looking elsewhere. Luckily, missing Egypt does not mean you have to miss the mummies! Here are five countries where you can see some great collections of preserved people.

CT scan 3D visualization of the mummified remains of Tayesmutengebtiu, showing her skeleton and amulets. © Trustees of the British Museum.

England

Visitors to England this year will find the country in the grips of Egyptomania, with two major Egyptology exhibitions. The British Museum in London is hosting Ancient Lives, New Discoveries, an in-depth look at eight ancient people from Egypt and Sudan. All were mummified either on purpose or by natural processes and come from a variety of historical periods. One woman who died around 700 AD in the Sudan had a Christian tattoo. By using the latest imaging technology, usually reserved for hospital patients, scientists at the British Museum have been able to reconstruct a host of details about how these people lived and died. The show runs until November 30. Also check out the museum’s regular collection in its world-class Egyptology gallery.

An hour north of London in Oxford, the Ashmolean Museum is hosting a show about the most famous mummy of all. Discovering Tutankhamun tells the story of one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time with Howard Carter’s original records, drawings and photographs. The show runs until November 2. There’s also a good permanent Egyptology collection that includes a few old-school wrappers.

Dedicated Egyptologists will not want to miss University College London’s Petrie Museum. Tucked away on campus, it’s easy to miss and yet has one of the largest collections of its kind in the world. The display cases are jam-packed with ancient artifacts, including a collection of evocative mummy portraits, painted likenesses of the deceased that were put over the mummy’s face during the Greco-Roman period.

This woman from the Sudan died around 700 AD and was naturally mummified after she was buried in the desert. She has the monogram of St. Michael tattooed on her thigh. © Trustees of the British Museum.

Sudan

Adventurous travelers who want to see mummies in their original land might want to consider Sudan, home to a culture as old as that of Egypt. Sudan and Egypt were in close contact all through their history. During the 25th Dynasty (712–664 B.C.) the Sudanese even ruled over Egypt. Many practices found in Egypt, such as making pyramids and mummies, were also done in the Sudan.

The Sudan National Museum in the capital Khartoum covers the ancient history of the kingdoms of Kerma, Kush and Meroë. The art is closely related to that of Egypt to the north, yet retains a distinct style. Several mummies are on display.

The face of the Tollund Man. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Denmark

Preserved ancient bodies aren’t always made on purpose or dried in the desert sands. In northern Europe, several bodies have been found preserved in peat bogs. The best have been found in Denmark and are on display at the National Museum in Copenhagen.

Some of these bodies are incredibly well preserved. The Tollund Man, for example, who died around 400-300 B.C., would be recognizable to the people who knew him. He was found with a rope around his neck, having been hanged or strangled. Many other bog bodies show signs of having been killed. Were they sacrifices to the gods, or criminals who were executed? Nobody knows, but you can come face to face with these people from the past and make your own conclusions.

Juanita, a frozen child sacrifice, before she was unwrapped. Image courtesy The Colca Specialist.

Peru

Mummies aren’t only found in the Sahara. In Peru there was a tradition of making human sacrifices on top of cold, dry mountains. In the lowland deserts, where rain hardly ever falls, even natural burials can become mummified.

The most famous Peruvian mummy is Juanita, a human sacrifice from the 15th century AD. She was aged 11-15 when she was clubbed to death and left atop an Andean peak. She’s now preserved at the Museo Santuarios de Altura in the lovely Spanish colonial town of Arequipa. Naturally preserved mummies are common in Peru’s harsh lowland desert as well, and are on display at most lowland archaeological sites and museums.

The Temple of Dendur in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

The United States

Americans don't need to leave home to find good mummy collections. The best by far is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which not only has the usual mummies and sculptures, but an entire Egyptian temple brought over from Africa.

The Museum at the Oriental Institute in Chicago has an excellent collection as well, along galleries covering all the major ancient civilizations in the Near East. Travelers on the West Coast will want to visit the Hearst Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley, which has mummies from both Egypt and Peru.

The State of the Art Scene in Madrid, Spain

July 15, 2014 Sean McLachlan

Madrid has always been famous for its thriving arts scene. Sadly, the Spanish capital got hit hard by the global financial crisis. For the past few years, madrileños have seen nightlife spots and galleries drop dead like victims of a plague. Thursday night, which had always been called “the first Friday”, became just another weekday with nothing special scheduled. Fridays and Saturdays became shorter, too, with more people choosing to stay home or stay out less.

(above) This giant frog, dubbed "The Frog of Fortune", appeared near Plaza Colón earlier this year.

This had a terrible effect on Madrid’s art scene. While the larger galleries and institutions soldiered on, labors of love such as the arthouse cinema La Enana Marrón and the gallery/café Entrelíneas Librebar fell by the wayside.

Now all that is changing. There’s a new electricity in the air, or one might say that some of the old electricity is back. Thursdays are discernible from Wednesdays now, and the weekends are revving up again. While Spain’s economic woes continue, it seems there’s more money and interest in art.

The Classical sculpture gallery at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional.

Can't-Miss Museums

The biggest news for the mainstream arts scene is the expansion of the Fundación Mapfre. This is one of the many large exhibition spaces owned by major corporations, which perhaps out of a sense of guilt offer top-notch exhibitions for free. Fundación Mapfre has been a Madrid institution for many years and this year doubled its space by opening the Bárbara de Braganza exhibition building with 868 square meters (2,848 square feet) devoted to photography, and a small but interesting model ship museum.

Museum junkies will also want to check out the newly renovated Museo Arqueológico Nacional. Spain’s national archaeology museum was closed for several years and locals were beginning to wonder if it would ever reopen. Now it has, with a more open, better lit floor plan that shows off its extensive prehistoric collection, a sumptuous display of large Roman mosaics, and several rooms dedicated to medieval Spain’s mixture of European and Islamic cultures.

Lomographic photo of Retiro Park. (Courtesy flickr user Ser… Ser…)

Good Things Come in Small Galleries

A few smaller art spaces have cropped up recently, including The New Gallery, which is only a little more than a year old. It specializes in international photography exhibitions. For those who want to go old school, check out the Lomography store, where Soviet cameras that take distinctively off-color, tunnel-vision photos are still the tool of choice. There’s always an exhibition of photographs on display, they sell cameras and accessories, and they are one of the few places left that develops film.

Inside Tipos Infames Libros y Vinos. (Courtesy Tipos Infames Libros y Vinos)

Burgeoning Bookstore Cafes

Madrid has always been one of the literary centers of the Spanish-speaking world, and now there’s a trend of opening bookstore cafes to bring together two of Spain’s loves of chatting over coffee and reading. There are several good ones, including Librería Café El dinosaurio todavía estaba allí, where once a month English-speaking writers give readings and the owner herself is a poet. Atticus Finch is a cozy little place with a small but select collection of books in the front room and a café/art space in the back. Readings, talks, and storytelling sessions happen regularly here. There’s also the spacious Tipos Infames Libros y Vinos (Infamous Types Books and Wine). With a name like that how can you lose?

Still from a production at Microteatro Por Dinero. (Courtesy Microteatro Por Dinero)

A Larger-Than-Life Microtheater Scene

For those with confidence in the Spanish language, check out Madrid’s burgeoning microtheater scene. Microtheaters are tiny spaces that seat only a few dozen audience members or less. You’re often right up against the stage and immersed in the scene. You might even end up being part of it! Some good new microtheaters include Godot and La Pensión de las Pulgas. There’s also Microteatro Por Dinero, which thumbed its nose at the financial crisis by opening in the black year of 2009 and managing to remain in business. It’s housed in an old brothel and has retained its original floor plan with a series of tiny rooms, once rented by the hour, where it’s often just you and the actors.

Street art at Plaza Juan Pujol. The two posters on top are painted on cardboard. Late at night, you’ll sometimes glimpse street artists carrying a ladder as a well as paint. Getting their work in hard-to-reach places has become a badge of pride.

A Thriving Street Art Culture

Madrid has always had an active and skilled graffiti scene. While there are the usual ugly tags, there’s also impressive spray paint work as well as poster and sticker art. Urban art seems to thrive during bad economic times (think New York in the 70s and 80s). Some Spanish street artists have moved away from traditional spray paint and are experimenting with posters, stickers, and even pieces of painted cardboard. With the economy on the up and more shops opening, you’re beginning to see more commissioned street pieces, where shop owners have graffiti artists paint murals on their shutters.

Good sources for what’s going on in Madrid include esMadrid (in English and Spanish), Angloinfo (in English) and CineyTV (in Spanish).