LANDMARK: House and Hound rebuffed
It’s already legendary, but now the red-brick mansion made famous by Calgary wrestling royalty is making history.
The Hart House has been officially designated a heritage property.
Stu Hart famously trained his sons and other wrestling stars in the home’s former basement grappling ring.
The Crandell–Hart House received its designation of municipal historic resource Wednesday, after city council’s planning and urban development committee approved it.
The designation legally protects the property and ensures any future changes align with best practices in heritage conservation.
“Tourists arrive from around the world just to drive by and look at it. It’s remarkable the traffic it generates,” said Ald. Richard Pootmans, vice-chairman of the committee.
In December, city council approved the development of nine homes with basement suites on the site of the Prominence Point Hart Mansion property.
Part of the approval hinged on the property owner agreeing to apply for the historical designation.
“We’re very pleased the surrounding development around it allows for sightlines to the mansion, and there were will be an in- terpretive panel so people can drive by and have their pictures taken with it,” said Pootmans.
Last January, the home appeared for rent through an online listing.
For $10,000 a month, renters would have access to the renovated and furnished six-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom home, according to a rentfaster.ca listing in January.
The famous dungeon where Stampede Wrestling was born has been converted into an airy, light-coloured home gym, complete with a heavy bag.
The 1905 Patterson Heights home was put on the market for $5 million by Teatro restaurant owner Dario Berloni in 2010, but he still owns it.
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. The couple raised 12 children, among them famous WWE wrestlers Bret and Owen.
Before the Harts owned the property, the mansion was owned by Judge Henry Patterson.
It was originally built more than a century ago by Edward Crandell, a prominent businessman and city alderman.