[HooverDam]

http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...-landmark.html

Long-shuttered Tovrea Castle undergoing renovations to finally receive visitors
by Lynh Bui - Sept. 12, 2010 09:51 PM
The Arizona Republic
With a long staff helping him up the way, John Driggs climbed the narrow wooden stairs of one of Phoenix's most famous and mysterious buildings.

Through each tier of the Tovrea Castle, Driggs excitedly pointed out historic aspects of the structure.


Carraro Cactus Garden

In the kitchen ceiling, he noted the bullet hole - shot during a robbery in the late 1960s.

Over the fireplace, he showed off the mantelpiece of a dancing ballerina - a gift from craftsmen who used the property's machine shop to create similar moldings for the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix.

And at the very top of the castle, he took in the view - surrounded by Papago Park, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Camelback Mountain and downtown Phoenix.

The former Phoenix mayor has had the privilege of strolling through the Tovrea Castle dozens of times but still marvels at the structure.

"I spent my whole early years in the car with my parents driving by," said Driggs, 83, who is helping to lead efforts to open the castle. "I had such wonderment as a little kid about this castle that no one could ever go in or know anything about."

Many Valley residents and visitors experience that same curiosity when they zoom by the castle on the hill along Loop 202. But Driggs' goal as chairman of the Arizona Capitol Centennial Committee is to get the Tovrea Castle and surrounding Carraro Cactus Garden open to the public in time for the state's 100th birthday so people can personally experience the magic.

This fall, Phoenix will start construction on the northwest corner of grounds to make way for a parking lot and bathrooms. An old, paint-chipped building that used to be a day-care center will be renovated into a visitor center. The $1.4 million project will provide more access to the property than ever before.

"With the city's tight budget, we won't be able to have staff there seven days a week, but we can do special events," Phoenix Deputy City Manager Rick Naimark said.

But the castle and garden still won't be officially open to the public, and it is still unclear whether that will happen by the state centennial Feb. 14, 2012.

The castle was built by Italian immigrant Alessio Carraro in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He envisioned turning the wedding-cake-shaped castle on the hill into the centerpiece of a resort property filled with a lush cactus garden.

Carraro abandoned his dream in 1931. That was shortly after his neighbors, the Tovrea family, constructed cattle and sheep pens nearby to supply the Tovreas' meatpacking plant. Carraro sold the property to E.A. and Della Tovrea, who turned the property into a private residence. Della died in 1969 of complications from an assault in a robbery that resulted in that bullet hole in the ceiling, and after that the property fell into disrepair. Cactuses died, and the castle started deteriorating.

In 1993, the city bought the castle and surrounding land to start preserving the area as a public park, and massive restoration efforts began. Since then, the city has purchased more than 43 acres of the property around 52nd and Van Buren streets.

More than $15 millions in grants, bonds and other money has poured into the project over nearly 20 years to buy and renovate the landmark after decades of languish.

Even though interior restoration of the castle finished last year, other buildings, fountains, gardens and other facilities need attention, said Dale Larsen, Phoenix director of parks and recreation. And although there will be bathrooms on the corner of the property, there won't be working facilities in the castle.

About $12 million more will be needed to get it fully open to the public, Larsen said.

"This has stood idle for decades now, and it's just a shame," Larsen said.

For the past few years, a group of volunteers called the Carraro Heights Society has been volunteering time to tend and restore the garden of more than 5,000 cactuses. That same group has adopted the park through the city's Adopt-a-Park program and has offered to help with tours and fundraising. The non-profit Phoenix Parks and Conservation Foundation has also designated the park as its main fundraising project and is interested in sponsoring events and tours to raise money.

Driggs said he hopes to excite other donors to fill in the rest of the gaps. "We want private money to flood in," Driggs said. "If we can get enough excitement for this, we could almost make it by the centennial."