🏨 Tovrea Castle

Tovrea Castle is a historic structure and landmark at 5041 East Van Buren Street in Phoenix, Arizona, on 44 acres (18 ha) bounded by the Red Mountain Freeway to the east, Washington Street to the south, Van Buren Street to the north and the Main Post Office to the west. Locally known as the "Wedding Cake Castle," it was built from 1929 to 1931 in a vernacular Italianate Architectural Style by Alessio Carraro, and was originally intended as the hotel centerpiece of a planned destination resort. It became a private residence after its purchase in 1931 by E.A. and Della Tovrea. The castle is part of the Phoenix Parks System and is designated as one of the Phoenix Points of Pride. Plans were to fully open the site to the public in 2009, but cost overruns delayed the opening until 2012. The castle and grounds have over 5,000 individual cacti in over 100 different varieties, maintained by Tovrea Carraro Society. The Society offers guided tours of the grounds, first floor, and basement along with special events as the Operator and Manager of the site.