Casa Loma - Ottawa, Ontario - Ontario Heritage Properties on Waymarking.com

Casa Loma', "the ''house on the hill", was erected in 1911 for Harry Southam (1875-1954) and his wife Lilias Ahearn. Harry Southam and his older brother Wilson, who buil.,t the neighbouring house in the same year, opened up this part of Rockcliffe Park, including a private driveway which later became Crescent Road. As Secretary-Treasurer, Harry Southam participated in the management of the Ottawa Citizen, part of the growing chain of Southam Press newspapers. In keeping with their influential position in the city, the Southams became avid patrons of the arts. A collector of European and Canadian paintings, Harry Southam served as the Chairman of the National Gallery of Canada and supported Canadian painters at a critical phase in the artistic development of the country. Lilias Southam's strong musical interests sparked the transformation of the squash court at ''Casa Loma11 into a Music Room, from where early CBC concerts were broadcast. In the mid 1960s, the government of Austria purchased the property as the residence for the ambassador.

The two Southam houses are artistically set at an angle to each other, creating an ambience of randomly-sited country houses. ''Casa Loma11 was designed by Ottawa architect Allan Keefer, a descendent of the Mackay/Keefer family who built several large residences in the Village. ''Casa Loma'' is a dignified red brick mansion in the Queen Anne Revival style, with fine stone-mullioned windows, parapet gables and- sla.te -'1:'oof., .formally -arranged in a manner reminiscent of Edwardian houses for gentlemen of means. Though ''Casa Loma'' was damaged by fire in 1944, it was rebuilt, following the original design, under the direction of architect A .J. Hazelgrove.
The house is set within a pastoral landscape on a height of land overlooking the Ottawa River. At the bottom of the garden, beyond the Rockeries, ran the Ottawa Electric Railway line built by Thomas Ahearn, one of the owners of the company and father of Lilias Southam. The spacious grounds of the property continue to contribute significantly to the rural ambience of Rockcliffe Park.

Reference: (visit link)

Link to Property in The Ontario Properties Database: [Web Link] Building or Property Type: Residential Building County or Regional Municipality: Ottawa-Carleton

Visit Instructions:
To log a waymark in this category please include a photo taken by you of the property and any comments you have on your visit: what you like about the site, its history and any changes that you noted from the database description.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.