Boldt Castle

We are in the Land of  a Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Truth be told there are closer to 1800 islands. They have a definition of the characteristics an island must meet - it has to have at least one tree and be above the water 24/7 365 days a year.

One of these islands is where George Boldt built a castle to give to his wife as a Valentines day gift. Sadly she died a few months before completion and the broken hearted George stopped all work and never returned to the island.

The castle sat vandalized and abandoned for over 70 years until taken over by the government and restoration begun. They have done much and the lower sections are near completion as it is envisioned the original design would have been. Other portions are stabilized and awaiting their turn at restoration.

We took a two hour tour thru the Thousand Islands (Yes, the dressing did originate here) and saw the various homes built on the islands. This was indeed a place for the wealthy to show off their money at the turn of the century.

Our boat tour  utilized this vessel to show the various sights in the area.

View from the upper deck was wonderful but chilly

This is the power generation building for the Boldt Castle. It also had a carillon with bells that could be heard all down the seaway 

Ships from both Canada and the USA deliver passengers to the island

The entrance to the home is rather impressive

The landscaping is beautiful

Being on an island means you are responsible for the generation of power . This was the power house for Boldt Castle

In its day it housed bells that played over the water

Paths criss cross the island to take you to the various buildings

The main floor has been restored

The ceiling is  a glass dome

The bedrooms are restored and furnished in a period correct manner

Mr Boldt made his fortune managing the Waldorf Astoria hotel. He was  wise enough to take his income as profit sharing rather than a salary. He made over One million dollars a year.  The hotel was later torn down and the Empire State building built on the site. 

The upper floors are awaiting restoration and are in a state of arrested decay

I really liked the design of this small gazebo

One of the buildings that was finished was the childrens castle. It too has suffered the ravages of time and is scheduled to be restored

If you live on an island you need a source of transportation and a boat house to store them. Mr. Boldt had quite the collection of boats and the building to store them. You can visit the boat house by another boat ride from the castle.

This is the boat house shuttle  craft

This was our third and last boat trip which returned us to the main land. Quite the place to visit.