Born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 1, 1830, Charles Henry Danielle would come to be one of the more mysterious and eccentric citizens Newfoundland had ever seen. Little is known of his early life, but Danielle begins to make his mark in St. John’s by 1872, when he either purchased or leased the Victoria Rink in the Bannerman Park area and began to hold elaborate carnivals on ice, complete with outrageous costumes and lavishly-decorated surroundings. He soon came to be known as an eccentric “fancy man,” with a penchant for pomp and circumstance. Some years later, Danielle set up shop near Quidi Vidi Lake but soon wore out his welcome and either voluntarily left the area or was forced out by competing business interests. His next, and most famous, business was the majestic Octagon Castle, situated on the shores of Octagon Pond.
Officially opened by Prime Minister William Whiteway in June 1896, the Octagon Castle was a grand building designed to act as a resort destination for well-heeled people all over the northeast Avalon and surrounding areas. Four stories tall and over 10,000 square feet of ornately-decorated luxury, the castle functioned as a restaurant, hotel, gallery and beach area, and would also be the final resting place of Prof. Danielle, who displayed his own coffin, built of walnut and glass and decorated with gold, to visitors and was exhibited there for a number of days after his death in May 1902.
(source: Riggs, Bert. “Charles Henry Danielle” 1992)