Inside Oak Hall Niagara Falls
August 29, 2008
Printed by the Review
Inside Oak Hall
Harry Oakes’ mansion on the hill retains its splendour as home to the Niagara Parks Commission
Posted By JENNIFER PELLEGRINI REVIEW STAFF WRITER
The stone manse cuts an imposing figure atop Dufferin Islands.
Built in Tudor style, Oak Hall -the former home of mining magnate Sir Harry Oakes -still bears his name. The Oakes coat of arms etched into the stone during his $500,000 renovation of the property in the 1920s is softened by time, but still clearly visible to anyone who stops by.
The five-hole golf course Oakes built to while away the hours when in Niagara Falls has long since been replaced by a nine-hole par-three public course run by the Niagara Parks Commission, which purchased the property in 1959.
“I think people are intimidated by this old mansion,” said Jim Hill, the Parks’ superintendent of heritage.
“But people can come inside and go through it, on the main floor, anyway.”
Inside, only the lower level -open to the public for tours -resembles the property that had been the permanent home of Sir Harry and Lady Eunice Oakes from 1924 until they moved to the Bahamas a decade later. (more…)
