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Restorted home in city centre has been a mansion, convent and rock star hangout

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2 Wellesley Place, Asking price: $3.2-million. In 1899, Rupert Simpson was a businessman and co-owner of the city’s first knitting mill, Toronto Knitting and Yarn Factory. Mr. Simpson hired Toronto architect Charles Gibson to design a house and stable in the area surrounding Jarvis and Wellesley, where many business titans had grand estates. Mr. Gibson designed the three-storey house in the Romanesque Revival style. The house is built of red brick on a sandstone base.

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In 1922, the house was turned into a convent for Catholic nuns. Later it became a nurses’ residence for Princess Margaret Hospital. The house was put to very different use years later when the owner rented it to the Rolling Stones when they were in town. The band used the third floor as a secluded place to practise. In 1984 the house was listed as historical by the City of Toronto and, in 2000, it was designated as protected under heritage conservation rules.

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The stained glass, ornate woodwork and elaborate plaster ceilings and walls have all been preserved at 2 Wellesley Place. Owner Frank McCrae bought the house about six years ago and gradually repaired and restored period details. Now the house is often used as a location for film and television productions, says Ms. Cook.Alexander Rothe

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Visitors arrive to a reception hall with panelled and carved oak and a grand staircase. The main floor living room and dining room have tall ceilings, original stained glass windows, sliding pocket doors and 11-inch high baseboards.Alexander J. Rothe

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The winding staircase leads from the main floor to an upper vestibule with a built-in oak bench. Above, an expansive curved window topped with stained glass brings light to the second floor hallway and down through the stairwell to the first.Alexander J. Rothe

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Most of the seven bathrooms have been restored in period style and the main floor kitchen has tall oak cabinets designed to look as if they have always been there. The second floor and the basement have been zoned for commercial use. Currently the second-floor offices are rented. The third floor has been divided into two large living suites.

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