After touring the grounds, guests enter the 5,000 square-foot castle. Near the entrance is a train bell – a memento E.A. brought with him from Jerome, where he spent some time as the town’s mayor. Inside, guests are instructed to wear booties over their shoes to not disrupt the maple flooring that is over 100 years old. The great room boasts memorabilia of the past, such as a dress that Della wore and a lounge chair from the original castle that has since been reupholstered. Guests can see the stenciling of pineapples on the walls, which is the international symbol of hospitality – a nod to Carraro’s dream of opening a hotel. There is also a faux fireplace – there was no room for a chimney to be built in the house, so the only source of warmth was through electric heaters placed in each room. The base of the hearth is designed from Terrazzo and models the Arizona flag. The Dancing Girl Medallion above the fireplace was a thank you gift from the artisans who created the same medallions seen at the Orpheum Theatre. The workers had no place to work on items for the Orpheum, so Carraro let them use his machine shop. Guests also tour the kitchen, where Della slept when she got older, as it was too hard for her to get up and down the stairs. One of the more interesting stories told during the tour is of a break-in at the castle in November 1968. During a storm one night, two men broke into the house and had a brief struggle with Della. A gunshot went off and hit the ceiling (guests can still clearly see the hole it left). After the melee, the men tied Della up and took $50,000 worth of silver and jewelry. She was able to get loose and ran to the outside bell, ringing it to get the attention of those at the caretaker’s cottage. When that didn’t work, 80-year- old Della made her way to the caretaker’s house and was then able to call the police. Because of this incident, she caught pneumonia and died in January 1969. Shortly after her death, the police caught one of the robbers in California, and Della received justice posthumously. Since Della’s death, the castle remained part of the Tovrea Family Estate with various caretakers and family members living in it. When the property was purchased by the City of Phoenix, plans for restorations began – although work on the castle didn’t start until 2005. Today, the castle is purely volunteer-run, thanks to the Tovrea Carraro Society. Tours are offered on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; group tours on Thursdays and special events on Wednesdays. Tickets need to be bought in advance and are booked through June with no tours given in July and August. In its first year of operations, more than 4,200 guests visited the castle. Now over 20,000 guests tour this site each year. In a way, Carraro’s dream became a reality, and people from all over are able to enjoy the beauty and views of Tovrea Castle at Carraro Heights. For more: tovreacastletours.com. Bell from Jerome, a vault in the basement, faux fireplace with hearth. tovreacastletours.com. Tovrea Castle with touches of snow in a greeting card painted by Peter Jordan. COURTESY OF THE TOVREA FAMILY Tovrea monument and the basement ceiling texture.

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