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* This
old photo of Heart Island and Boldt Castle shows the
finished Arch of Honor,
topped
by the three stone Harts (deer) (Which were replaced in June
2001.) and the
area
were the Peristyle was to have been placed.
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This
map shows the proposed construction on Heart Island. Some
of the structures were finished while others remained
undone when all work was stopped in 1904. |
B = Bath
Bal = Balcony W = Wardrobe
C = Closet
R = Roof
L = Linen
E = Elevator Shaft
P = Porch
OR = Organ Recess
Gray Shaded Area = Closed to
Public
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Ground Floor:
1.
Vestibule
2.
Reception Run
3.
Billiard Room
4.
Dining Room
5.
Great Hall
6.
Small Porch (to Grounds)
7.
Mr. Boldt's Office
8.
Ballroom
9.
Library
10. Grand
Staircase to 2nd Floor
(below grand staircase
are stairs to foundation level)
11. Public
Rest Rooms
(not part of original Castle)
12. Present
Site of Media
Presentation
(formerly the Butler's Room)
13. Original
Maid's Dining Room
(not open to the public)
14. Original
Kitchen
(not open to the public)
15. Servant's
Porch
16. Original
Servant's Dining Room
(not open to the public)
17. Ladies'
Rest Room
(originally a storage area)
18. Men's Rest
Room
(originally two separate
rest rooms; 1 men's, 1 ladies')
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The Castle's Main Entrance
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 he
First Floor
of the castle is entered buy climbing the stone steps to
the porch at the side of the Castle, walking around the veranda to the
front of the castle where you enter a door into the Vestibule (# 1.)
This room is paneled in in oak and contains a window seat.
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Stained Glass Window
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Outside the Vestibule
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Between the vestibule and the Great Hall is a stained-glass window
incorporating the Boldt's initial "B" inside one of the many
hearts found all over the island. The window also shows a 'hart'
(deer) also used in several areas of the island. Had the Castle
been finished, you as a guest, would have arrived by boat either through
the Peristyle or at the Tower Dock and then walked up to the Castle.
You then enter the spacious Main Hall (# 5.) where the first sight you
see is a broad Grand Staircase (# 10.). (The wooden temporarily
staircase was replaced in 2000 with one made of marble.)
An elevator would also have served the six stories, of over 127 rooms.
There would have been 30 bathrooms. Sadly the Castle was never
finished. If it had been, its interior would have been filled with
many already purchased chandeliers, marble mantelpieces, tapestries,
mosaics, carvings and sculptures. Under the Grand Staircase (#
10.) is a door to the |
| Foundation Level of the
castle where there was a
lounge and a swimming pool. The Castle's main floor also
contained a Reception Room (# 2.), the family's
Dining Room which was to be finished in Flemish Oak, (#
4.), a library (# 9.), a ballroom (# 8.), Mr. Boldt's Office # 7.),the
kitchen, butler's pantry,
storerooms, and a dining room for the maids and servants. There was a
planned recess for a pipe organ and
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The
Reception Room
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The Grand
Staircase Photo by: Jean Devaughan
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a keyboard
in the ballroom which would also control the
silver Westminster chimes in the Power House. The Reception Room
(# 2.), the Billiard Room (# 3.), and the Dining Room, (# 4.) have been
recreated and furnished. |
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Foundation:
1.
Hall
2.
Passage
3.
Swimming Pool
4.
Lounge
5.
Passage
6.
Organ Mechanics
7.
Storage
8.
Boiler Room
9.
Passage
10. Tunnel
to Grounds
11. Dressing
Room
B. Bakery
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On the foundation level there would have been a bakery.
Above it on the main floor would have been the kitchen.
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he
Foundation Level,
which is reached from inside the castle by a door under the Grand Staircase, (and would
have been served by the elevator as well), was to include
storage for wine, a bakery, and the
boiler room for heating the castle, and ice storage.
It also held a swimming pool and dressing rooms with fireplaces.
There was also stairways to the foundation in the servants area. |
The Unfinished Swimming Pool
Photo by: Jean Devaughan
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The Swimming Pool from the Outside |
When you walk from the
library out onto the large circular balcony area you actually
standing directly above the swimming pool. |
The Large Round Balcony Area Outside
the Library Sits Directly Over the Pool.
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An Arched Walkway
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Plaster hearts on the ceiling.
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Fireplace On The
Veranda
Outside the Dining Room
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Portrait of George C. Boldt
(image of castle is in background) |
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Second Floor:
1.
Hall
2. Mr.
Boldt's Bath
3. Mr.
Boldt's Chamber
4.
Mrs. Boldt's Chamber
5.
Mrs. Boldt's Bath
6.
Miss Boldt's Chamber
7.
Miss Boldt's Bath
8.
Miss Boldt's Reception
Room
9. + 10.
Guest Chambers
11. Loggia
(Partly opened
room or gallery)
12. - 18.
Guest Chambers
19.
Loggia (Partly opened
room or gallery)
20. Stairway
to 3rd and 4th
Floors
21. Sewing
Room
S.
Servants Rooms
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An Elaborate Balcony |
he
Second Floor was were Mr. and Mrs.
Boldt and their daughter, Louise Clover
Boldt, would have had their suite of rooms. There was to have been
a master control of both fire and burglar alarms
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Ornate Ironwork
Looking Out From A Balcony
Photo: by Linda Garrow
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| here. On this floor would also have been a sewing room and
servants quarters as well as guest chambers with private baths and
fireplaces. Many of the castle's
rooms have balconies.
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 |
he
Third Floor is similar to the 2nd floor in layout but does not
have the Grand Staircase. It was to contain the suite of master
rooms for young George Boldt with the remainder of the rooms being guest
rooms as well as rooms for servants. |
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Dark gray colored areas are not open to the
public |
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Fourth
Floor (Attic):
1.
Dome of Skylight
2. Room for Two Servants
3. Room for One Servant
4. Servant's Room
5. Hughey (Presumably Head Butler)
6. Assistant Butler and Boy
7. Roof Parlor
8. Observation Deck
9. Guest Chamber
10.
Reading Room
11. +
12. Guest Chambers
13.
Stair to Tower Room (Closed)
14.
Stair to Loft (Open)
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| he
Forth Floor
or Attic contained
servants quarters, guest rooms, a reading
room (#10.), a dark room, studio and a roof-parlor (# 7.) with a
fireplace adjacent to a large observation deck (# 8.). This floor
was also to have contained a rain water tank large enough to hold 10,360
gallons of water. A flight of stair leads to the Loft (# 14.) and
then another leads to Tower Room, or Lookout, where one would have had a
majestic view of the Thousand Islands and the Saint Lawrence River
including Sunken Rock Lighthouse. |
Observation Deck
Fireplace
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Roofline and Ornate Windows
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A Hart Stands Guard Over the Observation
Deck
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Castle Turret |
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 |
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Close-Up of Peaked Window
Carving
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Ornate Carving Accents
the Castle's Windows
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This outline drawing of the
Loft shows the steel girders used in the construction.
It also shows the stairways from
the Attic to the Loft area and
then to the Tower (Lookout). The dome area is a skylight
which was to have been enclosed
with stained-glass.
(A stained-glass dome was installed in May 2001.) Water would
have
continuously flowed over it. It would have been
lighted by sunlight during the day and by electric lights at
night.
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For
more photos of Boldt Castle go to Page 4 
* * * NEW BOLDT BOOK * * *
Author, Paul Malo's book
"Boldt
Castle: In Search of the Lost Story"
"Full of information on the real lives of
George and Louise Boldt
with fabulous photos and thought provoking ideas.
Professor Malo's book is definitely worth the
read!"
~ Lois Boyce Flack ~
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This site designed and maintained by:
and is dedicated in loving memory of my
mother:
the strongest woman I have ever known
and
the one who first introduced me to
Heart Island and Boldt Castle.
While no one ever built her a castle,
her family's love is just as enduring.
Page design & graphics © Copyrighted
1998-99, 2000-05 Lois A. Flack
My appreciation to
Mr. Roger S. Lucas
without whose in-depth research this page
would not contain its
more detailed information. His
wonderful booklet on Boldt Castle is where
much of my information and some of the old
photos were found.
If you would like to read more about
Boldt Castle,
and see more pictures you will want to
read:
"Boldt
Castle - Heart Island" - by Roger S. Lucas
To purchase a copy of his wonderful
booklet, write:
Mr. Roger S. Lucas
Research Review Publications
572 Beach Road
Cheektowaga, New York 14225-2233
* Designates photos and drawings from "Boldt
Castle - Heart Island" by Roger S Lucus
Some information for this site was also
found in the booklet
"The Love Story of Boldt
Castle"
written by the granddaughter of George
& Louise Boldt
Clover Boldt Braid
(2/21/1910 - 1/12/1993)
with
Julie Benbow Malear
A very "Special Acknowledgment"
to Julie Benbow Malear
who was kind enough to write and
compliment me on this Boldt Castle site.
"Thank You just doesn't seem
adequate!"
And from:
"Heart Island - Its
Castle and Towers"
Published during the 1940s by the
Heart Island Operating Company, Inc.
"The Golden Age of the
Thousands Islands
Its People and Its
Castles"
by
Laurie Ann Nulton
"The Elegant Inn"
The Fabulous Story of The Original
Waldrof-Astoria, 1893 - 1929
by
Albin Pasteur Dearing
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since April 1, 1998.