In 1951, wrestling promoter Stu Hart and his wife Helen bought a grand Calgary mansion for $25,000, turning it into the long-time home of their family and a place closely associated with professional wrestling history. Their son Bret Hart grew up in the house, where Stu trained wrestlers in a specially equipped basement that became known as the “Dungeon”. The approximately 5,600-square-foot mansion had been built in 1905, nearly five decades before the Harts acquired it. The Hart family eventually sold the property in 2004 for $1.5 million to Dario Berloni, owner of Calgary’s Teatro Restaurant. Six years later, Berloni listed the refurbished mansion for $4.95 million, although that figure was an asking price rather than a confirmed sale price. This remarkable property’s journey from historic mansion to wrestling training ground demonstrates how meaningful spaces can evolve while retaining deep cultural significance across generations of ownership.
Bret Hart grew up inside Calgary’s famous Hart House
Bret Hart grew up at the mansion with his parents, Stu and Helen, and his 11 siblings. The Alberta Register of Historic Places records Stu and Helen Hart as the home’s residents from 1951 to 1998. Stu was a professional wrestler and wrestling promoter best known for Stampede Wrestling, and the family’s home became closely connected to his wrestling operation. Bret eventually followed his father into professional wrestling and became known as “The Hitman”. In 2010, when the mansion was listed for sale, Bret visited the property with his girlfriend to take photographs and recalled growing up there. He described it as a beautiful house filled with memories.
The 1905 mansion had a history before the Harts
The house was built in 1905 for Calgary businessman Edward H. Crandell and his wife Harriet. Originally known as Varsity Heights, it was built as a country retreat and later became the Crandells’ full-time residence. The Alberta Register describes it as a substantial red-brick residence in the British Arts and Crafts style, distinguished by twin half-timbered gables and large verandahs. The property once formed part of a much larger 400-acre estate. From 1920 to 1922, it was rented by the Red Cross and used as the Soldiers’ Children’s Home, caring for orphaned children and children recovering from medical treatment. The official heritage record lists William Hextall as the builder and leaves the architect field blank.
Stu Hart turned the basement into the Dungeon
The mansion’s most famous space was its basement, where Stu Hart established a custom-built wrestling training area that became known as the Hart Dungeon. Wrestlers trained there over the years, including members of the Hart family. By the time the mansion was listed in 2010, the house had been refurbished, but the Dungeon had been preserved. Contemporary reporting said the basement had been turned into an exercise room, with photographs of the Hart family, a punching bag and some of the old equipment still in place. The mansion itself had about 22 rooms, four fireplaces and a basement vault, according to contemporary reporting.
The $25,000 home reached a $4.95 million asking price
The Hart family sold the mansion in 2004 for $1.5 million. Dario Berloni, owner of Calgary’s Teatro Restaurant, was the owner when the property was listed again in 2010. The refurbished mansion was placed on the MLS for $4.95 million, with approval for multi-family development on the site if a buyer wanted to pursue it. Realtor Donna Rooney said Berloni had spent substantially on renovating the property. The listing therefore represented a major change from the Harts’ original $25,000 purchase price, but the $4.95 million figure should be described as an asking price, not as the property’s confirmed sale value.
Calgary designated Hart House a historic resource
The mansion’s future became part of a wider debate over development and preservation. The Alberta Register of Historic Places records the Crandell House, also known as Crandell/Hart House, as a Municipal Historic Resource, with the designation dated April 22, 2013. The official record identifies its heritage value in part through its architecture, its connection to Edward Crandell and its later association with Stu and Helen Hart. The heritage property is located in Calgary’s Patterson neighbourhood and covers about 2.1 acres. The designation preserved the historic house while allowing development around it.