If you screamed “Sir Henry Pellatt!” down Yonge St., almost nobody would recognize the name.

Rich out of all proportion, he built Canada’s largest private home – now one of Toronto’s top tourist landmarks – yet he remains almost anonymous. Why?

A reading of Sir Henry Pellatt: The King of Casa Loma, a 1982 biography by Toronto writer Charlie Oreskovich, suggests the man lived apart from the city’s true development and primarily for his own self-aggrandizement.

Champion runner: In 1879, at the age of 20, Pellatt ran the mile in New York, beating the U.S. champion and setting a world record at 4:42.4. That same year, however, Toronto’s Edward “Ned” Hanlon captured the English championship in the far more popular sport of sculling, and the next year clinched the world title.

Eye for beauty: Pellatt married Mary Dodgson in 1882 and commissioned an artist to depict the back of her head. He found the nape of her neck exquisite, he explained. Unfortunately, Lady Pellatt suffered chronic poor health. She died at 67 in 1924, the year they were forced out of Casa Loma.

Hydro-electric visionary: In 1903, Pellatt and two partners won exclusive rights to generate the first large-scale hydro-electric power for Toronto at Niagara Falls. Public opinion was against private ownership of water power, however, and in 1906 the province claimed the resource on behalf of all Ontarians.

Lavish patron: Pellatt saw himself not only as king of his castle, but also as commander of his own army, the Queen’s Own Rifles. At the time it was a reserve company unarmed, untrained and without uniforms. Showering money on the unit, Pellatt lifted it to a respectable outfit that formed part of Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee honor guard and achieved other distinctions. The public viewed Pellatt’s generosity as self-serving, however, and never recognized him as a philanthropist.

Top financier: In 1913, Pellatt was said to rank among 23 stock-market investors who controlled the Canadian economy. He achieved success, however, by manipulating stocks unethically. A public inquiry into the insurance industry found him in conflict of interest and clarified the law to limit his dealings. Castle builder: Between 1911 and 1914, the construction of Pellatt’s hilltop house, with its 30 bathrooms, drew little media or public interest. “It just did not fit into the Toronto world,” Oreskovich writes. After 10 years, Pellatt was in tax arrears and the city forced him out. He died with $85 to his name.

Credit: John Goddard Toronto Star

Caption: A champion runner, Pellatt won several athletic prizes by age 20. Sir Henry Pellatt in Aldershot, England, with members of the Queens Own Rifles. The self-bought army reserve led to the British knighthood in 1905. Courtesy of Casa Loma

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

The Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma has until July 31 to recommend a new chair for the city-owned tourist landmark.

Toronto Council decided Wednesday that if the club doesn’t do so, the city will start looking for a new operator to replace Kiwanis, which has managed the castle for 73 years.

The city is concerned that commitments to upgrade the facility have not been met and wants the board to suggest possibilities to replace lawyer Richard Wozenilek, with the decision to be made by Mayor David Miller, said city manager Joe Pennachetti.

Wozenilek, who has held the post since 1991, couldn’t be reached for comment.
“They haven’t come close to completing the projects that were anticipated. They know that,” Pennachetti said.

Miller told council the city has been patient.
“We have given them every opportunity in the world to say, ‘Yes, we’ll address these issues,'” the mayor said. “Again and again and again, they haven’t.”

A city briefing note contends the city has tried hard to resolve differences with Kiwanis over how to showcase city-owned Casa Loma as a tourist and reception facility. It says Kiwanis acknowledges it has fallen behind on upgrades outlined in a July 2008 management agreement and has spent only about half of the $1.6 million it was supposed to on upgrades meant to be completed by June 30.

“Kiwanis is a fantastic organization,” Miller said Wednesday. “They do great charitable work. It’s just that a volunteer organization has been proven to be incapable of running this heritage site.”

Credit: Paul Moloney Toronto Star

Lawyer rejects charge Casa Loma is far behind on renovations; Miller wants new leadership

Toronto Star
Author:Paul Moloney
Date:Jun 19, 2010

Mayor David Miller may want him removed, but Casa Loma’s chair says he enjoys the support of his board, which believes the landmark is making progress on its turnaround plans.

Lawyer Richard Wozenilek fended off city allegations that invoices totaling $118,000 were paid by Casa Loma for legal work he did on a new management agreement between the city, which owns the castle, and the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma, which has run it for decades as a tourist attraction.

In an interview, Wozenilek said the billings presented to the vice-chair in January 2009 came to approximately $40,000.

“They’re saying in January 2009 the vice-chair was asked to sign invoices in the amount of approximately $118,000 for payment to my firm. That’s what they’re saying and that’s not true.” Miller responded that the figure of $118,000 covers billings from when the new management agreement came into effect two years ago, when the city appointed half the voting members of the board.

At the time of the change in the board, Miller named Wozenilek to continue as chair as recommended by Kiwanis. But by this March, in a meeting with Kiwanis to discuss the issues, Miller indicated he wanted to see a new chair.

“I think every Torontonian understands that the chair of a board who is serving at the pleasure of the mayor and is doing it in a volunteer capacity should not be charging legal fees to that board,” he said Friday.

Wozenilek wouldn’t reveal the total amount of fees he has billed for Casa Loma legal work, saying, “That’s between Kiwanis and me.”

Miller says he wants to “start over” with new leadership.

Wozenilek said his board discussed the city’s demands earlier this week. The two sides met Friday in an effort to reconcile their differences.

The city says it is concerned that the castle has fallen short on its renovation goals because money has been used to cover operating shortfalls. It says renovations that were to be completed by now include new third-floor exhibits, a visitor centre and a restaurant.

“Kiwanis needs to do two things,” Miller said. “They need to recommend another chair and they need to follow the steps that were set out in the staff reports to the executive committee.”

By the end of next month the city wants a joint work group to schedule monthly board meetings, prepare a financial plan and conduct an audit of operations and finances.

A separate report called for the Kiwanis Club to recommend a new chair to the mayor and amend the management agreement to clarify that the mayor can unilaterally replace the chair with another board member at any time.

Credit: Paul Moloney Toronto Star

by Ian Wahn

June 17, 2010

Re: City ready to snatch the keys to Casa Loma, June 14

I am thrilled some people at City Hall are finally acknowledging the incredible deterioration of Casa Loma. It used to be one of the places I would recommend to people when visiting Toronto. But not any more.

Casa Loma has been in decline for decades. This is nothing new. It is expensive to tour and one gets very little bang for the buck. The buildings are in decline and need a major rejuvenation and restoration. The plumbing, heating, lighting, electrical and ventilation need to be brought up to date. The tours are a total bore as most of them are conducted by those horrible self-tour MP3 players. Most rooms are void of any furnishings.

Why aren’t the rooms fully decorated with furnishings dating from that time period? Casa Loma should look, feel, and sound as if Sir Henry Pellatt was still living there. Nothing is properly lit either inside or outside. No atmosphere whatsoever. Imagine what thousands of LEDs could do to the exterior! It could look magical high up on its picturesque hilltop.

The Kiwanis Club does a lot of good things, but running Casa Loma isn’t one of them. Casa Loma needs a complete rethink. With fresh new/eager management, a healthy budget, a vision and lots of creativity, Casa Loma could be restored to its original beauty and splendour . . . and return to being one of the jewels in Toronto’s crown.

Ian Wahn, Toronto

Original Article

Toronto Star – Toronto, Ont.
Author:Paul Moloney
Jun 16, 2010

Even Casa Loma’s former lobbyist says it may be time to turn the city-owned landmark over to a new operator.

Paul Sutherland, a former councilor, was hired by the castle’s long-time manager, the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma, to achieve a new deal with the city, which wants interior renovations, new programming and new visitor amenities added.

“You can only give people so much time and if it doesn’t feel like it’s going in the right direction, then perhaps there should be substantial change there,” Sutherland said.

A new management agreement negotiated between the city and Kiwanis took effect two years ago. But Mayor David Miller has complained that progress is slow.

The city itself spent $16 million on exterior renovations between 2003 and 2009, but interior upgrades the club was supposed to have done by now – including a new visitors centre, third-floor exhibits, a restaurant and floor and woodwork upgrades – haven’t happened.

At Monday’s executive committee meeting, Miller raised what he called a serious conflict of interest allegation involving Casa Loma’s chair, lawyer Richard Wozenilek. He publicly called for Wozenilek’s removal over $118,000 billed for legal work on Casa Loma’s behalf performed by the lawyer’s own firm.

Wozenilek was travelling and unavailable for comment. Calls to his cell phone were not returned.

The city says the fees were for representing Kiwanis in developing the management agreement and issuing a request for proposals to engage a new food-services company.

A city staff report says the club was to spend $1.6 million on upgrades by the end of June. But because funds have gone to cover operating shortfalls, only $335,000 will be available by the end of 2011.

“If it’s been two years and we haven’t seen what we want, then I think the mayor and council would be right in saying it’s time to just change things,” Sutherland said. “This isn’t an aspersion on the Kiwanis: It just might be that it needs more capital to make it what it should be, because it should be an amazing site.”

Credit: Paul Moloney Toronto Star