Hart House (Alberta)

Hart House
The Hart House overlooking Calgary
Alternative names	Hart Mansion
General information
Status	Used as a hotel
Type	Mansion
Town or city	Calgary, Alberta
Country	Canada

The Hart House, sometimes known as the Hart mansion, is a residence located in the Patterson Heights neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Once owned by Stu Hart, it was home to his extensive professional wrestling family. While no longer under ownership of the Harts, the mansion continues to be referred to as the Hart House.

During the ownership of the Hart family the mansions basement was used as a training hall and wrestling school known as the Hart Dungeon which produced a large number of very successful pro wrestlers.

Besides the Hart family the mansion also housed many other wrestlers as well as an abundance of family pets and circus animals which were sometimes used in the Stampede Wrestling shows.

In 2012 the building was declared a heritage site by the city of Calgary.

The 5,600-square-foot (520 m²) home, sitting on 2.17 acres (0.88 ha) of land, was built in 1905 by businessman Edward Crandell. It was converted into the Soldiers' Children's Home for Orphans in 1920 and then bought by Judge Henry Stuart Patterson from the Crandells.

It was sold to Stu Hart in 1951 for $25,000. In its Hart-owned state, it featured twenty-two rooms, four fireplaces, five chandeliers from Edmonton's historic McDonald Hotel, two porches, a view of downtown Calgary, and a coach house behind the main house which was joined to the main house through a greenhouse.

After the death of Stu Hart on October 16, 2003, the ten remaining Hart siblings put the Hart mansion up for sale. Alison Hart gave several tours of the home to guests before finally handing down ownership of the $2 million home.

In June 2006, preservation plans for the mansion were defused in a tied 7-7 vote, leaving it susceptible to demolition. In October, however, a revised plan was authorized for thirteen townhouses to be built around the mansion as well as its restoration. Construction was stated to begin in summer 2007, but these plans were never implemented. Although the property went up for sale again in spring 2010, it was not sold. In December 2012, it was designated as a municipal heritage site by the City of Calgary as part of a development deal which also allowed the owner to build nine houses with secondary suites on the Hart House's undeveloped grounds.