PHOENIX — On Thursday, September 18, the Tovrea Carraro Society held a ribbon-cutting for the re-creation of Carraro Cottage and the Caretakers’ House as part of Tovrea Castle's legacy.
“The castle was completed in 2010 and opened for tours in 2012. In 2015, two of our oldest buildings were taken out by the monsoon and by a microburst. Since that time, we've been raising money to be able to put up the Carraro Cottage and the Caretakers’ House. They've been completely recreated. The buildings themselves were totally destroyed. So we have our two oldest buildings that actually predated the castle, now available to be seen from the tour. We're not going inside the buildings, but you do get a chance to look at what they looked like back then,” explained Tamera Zivic, President of the Tovrea Carraro Society, to ABC15.
If one wonders about the significance of recreating the two outbuildings, Zivic explains why it mattered.
“They're the two oldest buildings, and they actually represent both the homesteaders, the Warners who lived in the Caretakers’ House, originally, where the castle stands now, and the Carraro Cottage, where the builder who owned the 277 acres and his dream of the castle, where he and his son lived during the building of the castle. So it really takes us back in time all the way to 1907,” said Zivic.
Although the nearly century-old castle requires constant upkeep, Thursday’s celebration focused on the completion of two newly rebuilt buildings.
“The building itself actually represents the pioneering spirit of Arizona. The people who have owned it, lived in it, and helped to refurbish it. All have roots in Arizona, and we have a great history that sometimes is overlooked. This gives us an opportunity to crow about that,” said Zivic.
How to tour the castle
The tours are booked via their lottery system due to "an overwhelming demand" to see the Valley landmark.
The fall tour tickets were available through a June lottery.
“It's a very popular tour. It's about 90 minutes full of Arizona history and walking around on the property [...] You have to enter a lottery,” said Zivic. “We have many millions of people who enter. We have about 60,000 tickets available for January through May. So, we want to make sure that everybody who hasn't gone on a tour yet can get in.”
The next chance to get tickets for the spring 2026 tours will be from October 1–15, 2025.
What happens if you get selected?
- You will then select three days you're interested in, as well as how many tickets you want; up to four tickets are allowed.
- Tickets are $22 per person. Children two and younger are free but must be accompanied by an adult, according to the website.
- “Notifications to winners are sent 2 – 3 weeks after the lottery entry period ends,” according to event officials.
- If selected, winners then have 72 hours to purchase their tickets.
