The house is at the southern end of the northern section of
Spadina Road, on top of Davenport Hill, an escarpment which was the shore of prehistoric
Lake Iroquois. Immediately east was
Sir John Craig Eaton and
Lady Eaton's massive Italianate palace and estate,
Ardwold. Just around the corner on Austin Terrace, on the lot adjacent to Spadina House, is
Casa Loma, a stately pile built in 1911 by
Major-General Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. and
Edwardian styles of residential architecture. The architecture of the Austin Home is inspired by the Italliante architectural style combined with elements of later Victorian and Edwardian styles. The exterior features that it is known for are its bay windows, its brick and stone terrace, the brick chimneys, and the botanically themed carved keystones. The estate ground's oldest building is a wood stable from the mid-19th century, which was attached to the old coach house, and was once used as a gardener's residence until the end of the 1920s. The interior of the house showcases the Victorian and Edwardian components through its floating staircase in the central hall, high baseboards, ceiling medallions, plaster crown mouldings and hardwood floors. This home 55 rooms, in which various new art pieces and decorations are showcased. The remodelling in 2010 added specific studied reproductions of the original family's artefacts. The wallpaper, the kitchen, the bathroom, and bedroom closet were remodelled. Stuffed wolves found in the family's archives are now placed at the entryway of the museum. Additionally, the artwork included in the remodel was a statue from France of a woman. Due to the blue and pink colors of the sculpture, the museum staff nicknamed it “Wonder Woman”. Another part of the remodelling was the restoration of a mechanical chair used by Albert Austen when he lost mobility. The entirety of the chair moves and is kept as an artefact as it was designed by him for himself. This chair resembles a “La-Z-Boy chair". The natural landscape of the Spadina House is protected by law under the “Ravine and Natural Feature Protection By-law”. This estate originally included 200 acres of farmland. There were 200 feet of trees between the house's initial frame and the edge of the ridge in the south of the property, still providing an unbroken view of Downtown Toronto and
Lake Iroquois. Many Torontonians follow a convention of pronouncing Spadina Road with the
i as as in
mine, and Spadina House with the
i as in as in
ski. Occasionally, Spadina Road is pronounced the second way. South of
Bloor Street, however, Spadina Road becomes
Spadina Avenue, which is
always pronounced the first way. The distinction between the two ways was once an economic
class marker in Toronto with the upper classes favouring the second pronunciation. Now, however, even the official
TTC stop announcements pronounce the
i in Spadina as the one in
mine. == Awards ==