Boldt Castle

While researching things to do near Perth, Ontario, Boldt Castle popped up on my list. Other places closer to Perth also appeared on the list, including the Perth Museum and the Mammoth Cheese (a replica of the 22,000 pound cheese forefathers made in 1893 to send in to the Chicago World's Fair), but I was looking for a destination for a day.

When I mentioned Boldt Castle to Don his first reaction was "didn't we go there already?" I turned to this blog to settle the fight. In 2014 (eleven years ago) "we missed the ferry by five minutes and the next one would only allow us an hour on the island." With that settled, we planned to spend Monday on Heart Island.

Even if we had visited in 2014 so many changes have taken place to Boldt Castle and its grounds it would have been worthy of a second visit. The Butlers' Pantry and Maids' Dining Room opened in 2014. The kitchen renovations were completed in 2015, as were the servant's dining room, and Italian Gardens. Craftsmen continue to work on the castle.

The castle is only open in the nicer weather months, which makes sense because the only way to access Heart Island is via boat.

I researched how to get to Boldt Castle. It sits in the 1000 Islands region between New York State and Canada, on the US side. We were already in Canada, so it made sense to enter from the Canadian side. The boats from Canada are sightseeing boats that only allow for an hour or two at Boldt Castle. I had no idea how long we would be there, but I suspected it would be longer (we were there about 4 hours exploring the castle and its newly restored outbuildings). 

The other option was to cross the border and for $10 take the Uncle Sam, a boat that ferries people over every thirty minutes. 

I did not see the option we ended up doing -- taking a free 2-minute ferry ride from the Boldt Castle Yacht House to Heart Island. Our $16.50 ticket to both the Yacht House and the Castle included the shuttle. We fell into this because I entered Boldt Castle into the GPS figuring once we crossed the border we would see signs for the Uncle Sam. It worked out well, though parking is extremely limited.

The day was hot -- pushing 100 in Central Jersey, and low-90s near Perth, but on the island it was in the mid-80s. It was the right decision for the day.

Every staff member we met was well trained. They all knew the basic history and could answer questions professionally and kindly. Though we were all melting, no one took it out on the visitors. 

Our tour started at the Yacht house. The woman working at the ticket booth assured us she would let us know when it was time to take the boat to the island. We could come back and finish touring the yacht house afterwards.

George Boldt was a self-made millionaire who never quite fit in with the other millionaires so he decided to build his wife a castle that would be the envy of the other wealthy people of his day.

He made his money as the head of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. The one he ran was sold after his 1916 death to make space for the Empire State Building and rebuilt near Central Park. He is credited with inventing the theory that the customer is always right. He memorized the names and faces of all of his guests to give them the best service. He was also the first to use flowers on a large scale, and other features we now think of as standard.

The Yacht House was built on Wellesley Island in 1903 to store his 60 boats. It is also contains an apartment where George Boldt lived after his wife's death in1904. He lived so close to Boldt Castle but refused to step foot on the island. As you can see in the pictures, it was a spacious place to live.

View of Boldt Castle from the Yacht House

George Boldt (born April 1851 in Germany) was considered to be the "caretaker to the wealthy." He came to the United States as a kitchen boy, and worked his way up until he was running the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. John Jacob Astor invited him to move to New York to run the Waldorf Astoria. 

He met Louise Kehrer in 1877, and married her three years later. They had two children, a son (George Jr.) and a daughter (Louise Clover). 

While on vacation he took a train ride to the 1000 Islands and fell in love with the area. He bought Hart Island, and renamed it Heart Island and reshaped the island to be heart-shaped, and filling it with many heart-shaped decorations.

Construction for 90-foot tall Alster Tower, officially nicknamed the "children's playhouse," or as a tour boat driver passing the island called it "his man cave," took place from 1897 to 1899. The tower includes a two-lane bowling alley, library, full kitchen, dancing hall, stage, and several upstairs apartments. I later overheard the building just reopened to the public a month earlier on Mother's Day Weekend. Workers were busy renovating the bowling alley and stage. It was used until Louise's death on January 7, 1904.

Walked around the grounds. Most of the other guests were retirement age people also enjoying the sea breezes. There were a couple of families. I suspect that is their typical demographic. Years ago I remember when Carin used to visit her family's cabin in Ontario she would put a visit to Boldt Castle on her wish list of places to go, but it was hard to convince others to go with her. The island is just awkwardly located making it a destination instead of an add-on.

We wandered into the basement of the castle. The ceilings are high, but the air still has a dank feel. Looking at the smooth brick floor it is easy to forget a ton of work must have happened in order for that floor to be so flat. Upon Louise's death in January 1904 George called the 300 workmen and halted construction on the castle. In 1922, after his 1916 death, the island was sold to EJ Noble (the inventor of Lifesaver candies) who opened the island for tours, but did nothing the protect the work. It not only fell into disrepair, it became a teenage hangout and was overtaken by graffiti and other vandalism.

In 1977 (nearly 50 years ago), the 1000 Islands Bridge Authority took over the island. They set an ambitious goal of restoring it to its 1904 condition. When that was met, they reached out to George Boldt's heirs and asked for permission to finish what their grandfather had started.

Alster Tower opened to the public in 1991. The Yacht House was opened in 1996. In 1998 construction began on the interior of the Castle.

Listening to visitors returning to the castle after many years, it sounds like it was quite the construction site. Today the first floor is fully restored, as well as much of the second floor. The third floor is a work in progress with graffiti still visible, but everything is stable. The fourth floor has a cut out in a wall giving a glimpse into a clean version of what the entire house looked like.

Their first project was the Great Hall Staircase, which was completed in 1999. Two years later, the glass dome capped the three-story room. Melinda, one of the docents, told us while they did find the architectural plans for the the castle, they did not locate specific plans for how George Boldt wanted the dome to look. Using Syracuse glass, the curators chose to design the dome after the one on the Titanic, the ship that took his good friend JJ Astor's life. She speculated the dome would have included stags, which, along with hearts, was a common theme in Boldt's decorating. She pointed to a stained glass window he created as the basis for her opinion.

She also shared her pictures of the swans on Wellesley Island. Clearly hot and sweaty, she made sure we knew where to find air-conditioning, even making a loud announcement just before the next showing of the movie in the air-conditioned room on the second flloor.

 

I noticed markers in each room identifying the place on the app to learn more about each room. I resisted, mostly because I just do not want another app on my phone and I feel the concept a bit elitist. I resisted getting a iPhone for years, and resisted even longer getting a data plan that would allow me to download this type of stuff that I still resist it on principal. Finally I gave in.

I learned the dining room furniture was donated by George's granddaughter, Clover. It was never in this house because (remember) this house was not finished, therefore it was furnished. At my age, I think how lucky she was to be able to pass on family "treasures" to someone who would not only appreciate them (she also donated the family china), but would take care of it.

First floor rooms include a library with fairy tales in the original mahogany wainscoting, and fireplace, a ballroom with space for a harp or small orchestra at one end, a formal dining room, maids' dining room, butler's pantry, working kitchen (which is commercially certified), and servants' dining room. I do not know why the maids had a separate dining room, though as I write this I wish I had asked.

The second floor has a bedroom each for George and Louise, as was fitting for the upper class in those days, a bathroom (each guest room had a bathroom), a suite for Clover, an air-conditioned room dedicated to  showing a movie called "Housing a collection," and a gift shop.

 

Though his daughter was already in her 20s as the house was being built, he built a suite for her so she could entertain suitors, or perhaps to encourage her to bring her future family for visits. His son did not have a similar setup, but the curators suspect his would have been on the third floor. The castle has 127 rooms with enough space for 100 guests. The scale is lost since only a portion has been fully restored.

Here are some pictures from the first floor of the castle. 

Ballroom

Library

Sitting area

Before photos to help you appreciate
how it looks now

Dining room

Maid's Dining Room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Servant's Dining Room

Library, again

Second floor:

George's room

Louise's room

Yes, they had indoor plumbing
at the turn of the 20th century

Clover's bedroom

Clover's suite

Third floor:

View of the stained glass dome

Love the view from windows,

We spoke with a couple of gardeners. The first one I suspect was using this as his retirement job. He said he learned a lot about flowers for free, then corrected himself and said "even better, I'm paid for it!" with a huge grin. He seems to have struck the lottery with this job.

The second gardener was much younger. It was clearly the end of his eight-hour day. He said they start at 7 am doing much of the heavy work using power tools before the island opens at 10:30 am. We saw him a few minutes later heading to his car for the day.

The grounds were stunning. Meticulously cared for. We could see where the next season's flowers were being cultivate.

Back on the other shore, I took a quick spin through the Yacht House with new appreciation that George spent the last decade of his life in that space, as well as in his suite at the Waldorf Astoria, where he died. His dream of sharing the castle with the love of his life, his "princess" ending when Louise died at the age of 42.

As we walked to the car we paused to look at the swan family. Thanks, Melinda, for telling us about them.