Casa Grande, Mount Isa, Heritage-listed residence in Mount Isa, Australia.
Casa Grande is a two-storeyed, U-shaped Spanish Mission style house on Nettle Street in Mount Isa, built in 1949 of 6-inch Denaro bricks with stuccoed white walls, dark timber-framed sash windows, terracotta roof tiles and balconies. Its verandahs, supported by roughly hewn timber posts, overlook a central courtyard, and the house stands on a rise above the mine.
The residence was built in 1949 for Julius Kruttschnitt II, General Manager of Mount Isa Mines, during the post-World War II mining expansion. Its construction reflects the economic prosperity that the growing mining industry brought to the region.
The name Casa Grande, Spanish for "big house", is a term used in Arizona and New Mexico for the boss's house, echoing Kruttschnitt's American background. The Kruttschnitts held a housewarming under a marquee on the lawns on 22 July 1950, and an annual New Year's Eve punchbowl party was among their functions. In 1951 Mrs Kruttschnitt arranged a dinner for 80 long-serving employees and their wives.
The building is situated in a residential area of Mount Isa and can be viewed from the street. It is easy to include in a walking tour of the town to observe the architectural style of the period.
A suite at Casa Grande was redecorated and refurnished for Queen Elizabeth's 1970 visit to Mount Isa, and the company bought a dining table with a top cut from a single piece of cedar for the occasion. The house had become a guest house for visiting directors and VIPs in 1966.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,777 contributors worldwide.