BURLINGTON CULTURAL MAPPING

This elegant 11,000 square foot stone clad mansion, designed by Stewart Thomson McPhie in association with Lyon Sommerville (1886-1965), is a unique facility for your function during any season. Three levels with original hardwood floors throughout, 7 working fireplaces, many original fixtures and decorations, and a relaxed charm that is perfect for entertaining and celebrating. Built of local limestone, the mansion has many formal design elements. Classical influences are observed in the Tuscan columns on the east and south elevations and the scroll pediment above the west entrance. The mansion is almost a square in design, a descendant of Edwardian simplicity.

Restoration on Paletta Mansion began in April 2000 and was completed in December 2000. Three floors of the mansion were upgraded to modern standards, while maintaining the historic charm and character of its features: the grand hall and staircase, the seven fireplaces located throughout the house, hardwood floor and the decorative interior details.

The grounds design reflects estate planning of the 1930's. Designed by Arthur H. Sharpe, the integrity of the historic fabric provides a unique opportunity for historic landscape interpretation. Of significance, is a formal allee of mature sugar maples which lead from the entrance gate to the lake and separates the mansion from a series of three gardens. Come stroll down the Dofasco Shoreacres Creek Discovery Trail which links to the Waterfront Trail along the western half of the park and catch a glimpse of the caretaker's gatehouse, a converted barn/stable and a dollhouse, once used for children's tea parties. Smell the aroma of flowers from the formal gardens or feel the cool breeze off the lake as you stand along the cobble beach. The open lawn provides a great place to set up your picnic, as you watch the sailboats along the horizon. The flood plain of Shoreacres Creek is one of the only areas left in natural vegetation along the Halton shoreline of Lake Ontario.

Once owned by Laura Secord (granted to her in 1809 by the Crown), the property had numerous owners until it was purchased in 1912, by a prominent Cyrus Albert Birge. On Birge's death the estate passed to his daughter, who built a mansion on the grounds.