I went for a morning run through the pretty town while John installed an AppleTV for the Salon TV so we can watch movies downloaded to our iPads when we have a free WiFi connection. We cruised a little way up the Niagara River to recalibrate the navigation system then crossed Lake Ontario to Toronto.
We were welcomed to the harbor with a regatta of Laser type two person sail boats. John carefully maneuvered us around them and even more carefully into the tight harbor. We had an excellent dock assignment where we could just step off onto the promenade in the lakeside of downtown. We walked uptown to Kensington Market, an unusual few blocks of funky storefronts, hippie shops, music and lots of vegetarian food. We had lunch on the patio of Kensington Cornerstone. The architecture in the city is an eclectic mix of old Victorian brick and 1970’s style modern.
We hailed a cab to Casa Loma, a gothic revival castle/mansion in the middle of the city. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. and was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914. Pellat founded the Toronto Electric Light Company in 1883, the same year that Thomas Edison developed steam-generated electricity. By 1901 Henry Pellatt was chairman of 21 major companies with interests in mining, insurance, real estate and electricity. As a single person he directly controlled 25% of Canada’s economy. His entrepreneurial spirit continued and together with some business partners he built the first hydro-generating plant at Niagara Falls in 1902. Henry Pellatt was knighted in 1905 by King Edward V for his service to the Queen and his efforts in bringing electricity to the people of Canada. However, he didn’t get to enjoy the castle for more than a few years. Not long after building Casa Loma, with the creation of Canada’s Ontario Hydro Electric Commission, power generation was transferred into the public sector. As a result, Sir Henry Pellatt and his business partners were expropriated without any compensation whatsoever. One of his other businesses, an aircraft manufacturing company, was also taken over by the government, again without compensation, as part of the war effort in WWI.
In his later years he was almost destitute and ended up living with his former chauffeur in a modest bungalow.
We took a cab to the Harbour Center and walked along the construction heavy promenade back to the boat. John worked on getting the TV set up so we could watch the 49er game and since it was cold and dark and rainy, we ordered Chinese food for delivery which amazing found its way to us on the boat.
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