ADDRESS: 66 Russell Hill Road
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Casa Loma
AGENT: Jonathan Ferrier and Elli Davis, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage
PRICE: $4,500,000
THE PLACE: Nestled at the bottom of Russell Hill Road and flanked by Sir Winston Churchill Park and Roycroft Park, this house provides the best in stately castle (there is a turret covered in vines, after all) that Toronto has to offer this side of Casa Loma.
BRAGGING RIGHTS: The home is a name-dropper’s dream: it was built in 1926 for Frank W. Stone and his wife, American opera singer Rosie Scott, by Douglas E. Kertland, the architect famous for designing the Automotive Building (now the Allstream Centre) at Exhibition Place (the garden was even featured in Canadian Homes and Gardens magazine in 1934). The Stones later sold the property to Henry John Burden, a World War I flying ace and architect (who designed a home for the Eaton family and was Billy Bishop’s brother-in-law). Following Burden’s death in 1960, politician, Citytv correspondent and officer of the Order of Canada Morton Shulman took up residence here.
BIG SELLING POINT: The leaded-glass windows and wide-planked oak floors maintain the classic character of the house, but the five-piece master ensuite bathroom with Jacuzzi tub means this won’t be medieval living.
POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: Unfortunately, the turret is more for style, less for defending the fort.
BY THE NUMBERS:
• $4,500,000
• $34,103.21 (2010 taxes)
• 7 bathrooms
• 6 bedrooms
• 5-piece master ensuite bathroom
• 1 backyard in-ground pool
• 1 Jacuzzi tub
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- Inside the castle
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- In case of an uprising among the rabble, this is the ideal place from which to defend your worldly possessions.
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- A beautiful living room featuring wide-planked oak floors, a gas fireplace and French doors out to a Juliet balcony.
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- The fireplace looks like it’s wearing a hat! Also, a pretty sitting room.
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- The family room borders the kitchen.
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- The kitchen with oak floors, granite counters and what appears to be some sort of vacuum device from Dr. Seuss. Be careful not to get sucked up.
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- The upstairs looks medieval.
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- The grand master bedroom with a wood-burning fireplace.
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- Step into my bedroom office?
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- Deluxe castle bathroom
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- Bedroom (barred windows to keep the vulgar masses out)
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- Ensuite bathroom
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- Serious closet
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- Lower-level family room with a walkout to the stone terrace.
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- The dungeon in this joint is super-nice.
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- The play area for your prisoners, complete with concrete heated floors.
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- Powder room
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- The castle pond (or swimming pool in modern parlance)
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- The grounds
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- The view of Sherwood Forest (er, the backyard).
Made enough dankness up in there! BEAUTIFUL HOUSE! its sad to say good bye barb! Hope all is well!
July 20, 2011 at 1:51 pm | by Mitchell BakerThis house (mainly its dungeon) was the best for under age drinking parties back in ’04.
July 20, 2011 at 2:50 pm | by Randy McNielsonThis property is unbelievable. I wish I was in that pool right now being 41 degrees today.
July 20, 2011 at 3:16 pm | by Jack RandallOne of the best homes featured in TL. If I won LOTTOMAX I would so buy this in a jiffy!! Amazing.
July 21, 2011 at 12:32 am | by CEEI think this castle like house is the most beautiful house that I every seen in Ontario, Canada. I can only dream of owning the estate, someday?
July 21, 2011 at 5:55 am | by Davidcaption writer take note…those aren’t bars on the windows…merely leaded glass……… ummmm,shouldn’t you be in school today?
July 21, 2011 at 7:56 am | by nicoleI loved this one
July 21, 2011 at 8:07 am | by barif I was that lucky couple who won $41M lotto I would buy this house
Wow this house is stunning! A castle in the city – sounds perfect to me!
http://shaunnilsson.com/
July 21, 2011 at 8:57 am | by Shaun NilssonSo, wait.. everyone complained about the previously featured houses in this section, but this is the one you say rocks???? I cannot believe it. This is trully depressing. Yes, let’s all live in old dingy homes! Awesome. Screw the new, screw the developments in architecture over the past century, forget about the light, airy, uncluttered spaces that we have seen up until now. If I was to win a lottery, I also would love to live in a depressing old house… NOT! I would suggest those of you who will undoubtedly come by large amounts of cash, to hire an architect who can design a home for you that would not look into the past bot, instead, would provide an ideal surroundings for your life in the future. Grr.
July 21, 2011 at 9:00 am | by JanisGORGEOUS – finally a TL house I would love to live in! Absolutely stunning, and not a dud room in the bunch. Please let me win the lottery – I would snap this up in a second!
July 21, 2011 at 9:39 am | by KnotigalTotally agree with Janis on this one – WTF?
However, the area is absolutely fabulous!
At Shaun Nilsson – nice shameless plug by leaving a link to your website. LOL!!
July 21, 2011 at 10:36 am | by GabrielleThe sofa in the family room looks as though it came from Bay Boy. If you can afford to live in a house that costs over four million dollars, can’t you afford an interior designer?
July 21, 2011 at 11:28 am | by Melissa S.Melissa S is so spot on about the decor! but I love the natural colours of the house itself, the ornate doors and stairwells I absolutely love this house! Oh, please 649 genie give me enough moola to buy this house.
July 21, 2011 at 12:17 pm | by stellaAbsolutely the interior decor is embarrassing…
July 21, 2011 at 12:29 pm | by nicI live one street over and have admired this home for 10 years. Fabulous location, huge trees which shelter you from a sweltering day like today. Sorry Janis (from above post), it’s the old saying ‘they sure don’t build them like they used to’. Romantic! Charming! Elegant!
July 21, 2011 at 1:14 pm | by Lisa