Dungeon still intact after renovation
Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
Sun
Bret Hart (front) with Rooney Cronin Valentine associates from left to right, Donna Rooney, Warren Cronin, Gary Cronin and Sue Anne Valentine, outside the Hart House in Calgary, Alberta on May 13, 2010, which they are selling for $5 million. Photograph by: Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald
Described as “one of the most sophisticated buying opportunities of this century,” the iconic Hart family mansion, one of the country’s most infamous historical residences, has been listed for sale in Calgary for nearly $5 million.
The three-storey mansion, formerly owned by pro wrestling’s famous Hart clan and currently owned by Dario Berloni, owner of the downtown Teatro Restaurant, is approximately 5,600 square feet on about one hectare of land with stunning views of the city from Patina Place S.W.
It has been refurbished inside, but the legendary ‘dungeon,’ a specially outfitted, custom-built basement where famous wrestlers like Superstar Billy Graham, Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Abdullah the Butcher, Roddy Piper, Edge, Fritz Von Erich, Gene Kiniski, and Jim Neidhart were trained and brutalized at the hands of Stu Hart and his sons Bret and Owen, has been preserved.
Bret Hart has previously described the room as having holes in the walls and ceilings where bodies had been driven through them at various times over the multi-decade history of the room. The Dungeon was even the scene of an MMA vs wrestling match between Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart for a 1998 WWE pay-per-view.
“Going to the Hart family for training was kind of like, if you’re a very religious person, going to the Vatican,” said Chris Benoit in the book WWE Unscripted. “It was a good experience just to be there, to imagine all the people that had been through there, and all the blood, sweat, and tears that had been paid.”
The mansion is listed on the MLS system by Rooney Cronin + Valentine of Re/ Max Real Estate (Central) for $4.95 million.
“When (Dario) bought it a few years ago, it needed to be refurbished,” said realtor Donna Rooney.
“He has spent a lot of time on this and I would say at massive expense.”
“The amount of money that has gone into this and the love that’s gone into this renovation has been spectacular. Anybody that’s seen the house is just in awe,” said Rooney.
Bret (The Hitman) Hart dropped by the house with his girlfriend Thursday afternoon to take some photos, and said he was surprised it is for sale again.
“But at the same time, I could see somebody living in this home,” said the world-famous former wrestling champion, who grew up in the home.
“It’s a beautiful house. It’s filled with memories and love. Pleasant memories.
“I like a lot of the changes, but I miss the old house.”
The mansion has been restored to keep the integrity of the way it was, but also to modernize it, said Rooney.
“It’s beautiful. There’s been a lot of imported tile and wood and the kitchen is totally divine. The house is gorgeous. It’s very much a grand property,” she said.
There is approval in place for multi-family development on the site, if potential buyers are interested in pursuing that.
A few years ago, there was a great deal of controversy over that potential development opportunity.
“I know they’ve done some renovations on it and they’ve restored it,” said Ross Hart, one of the 12 Hart children who grew up in the home.
“It all depends on the type of buyer. If it’s someone who wants to preserve the house and the landscape, I’m really happy with that.
“I’m not so keen on some developer just buying it that’s going to sell a bunch of townhouses or condos on it and change the landscape, the traditional look of the yard and the character of the home itself.”
The Hart mansion was built in 1905 by Edward Henry Crandell, a successful businessman whose family owned the mansion until 1935, when it was bought by Judge Henry Stuart Patterson.
The home was sold to wrestling icon Stu Hart and his wife Helen in 1951 for $25,000.
The Hart family sold the mansion in 2004 for $1.5 million.
Stu Hart, the patriarch of the wrestling dynasty, died in 2003. His wife Helen died in 2001.
“This house would be similar to some of the great Mount Royal mansions that you would see, and it’s perched up on the hill on the west end of the city. That’s really unusual,” said Rooney.
“It’s got absolutely stunning views of the city and it feels like a grand old dame that you would see in Europe. It’s got very much a European-type flavour. You could see somebody having a family of 12 in this house. There’s a multitude of bedrooms (six) and they’re all equipped with beautiful ensuites. There isn’t an inch of this home that hasn’t been touched.
“The old dungeon has been preserved. There’s pictures of the Hart family up. It’s turned into an exercise room. The punching bag is there. Some of the old equipment is still there.
“Anything they could keep that the Harts had in place, they kept. And they complemented it with imported fixtures.”
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