Winnipeg Free Press

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CITY & BUSINESS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 city. desk@ freepress. mb. ca I winnipegfreepress. com TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014 B 1 FOR Jason Halter, the sprawling, historic mansion at 1021 Wellington Cres. is so much more than just a place he called home for a quarter- century. It was also the real estate for his childhood years and what he says were " millions of awesome memories." Halter, now a Toronto- based architect and designer, contacted the Free Press after learning a major fire had torn through the place he once fondly called home. " Our house was always filled with laughter and music as long as I remember it," he said. " And those memories persist despite the super- sad devastation that this fire has brought to the old home." Halter lived there with his family from 1966 to 1991, long before the Dornetshubers plucked it off the market. " Tons of friends who I grew up with played in the yard, partied in the basement and swam in the pool," said Halter. The basement, he remembered, was a " pretty amazing" place to hang out. His arts- loving parents, Aubrey and Nola, often hosted talented classical musicians who'd fill the house with their gifts, he said. " I recall hearing Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Vladimir Horowitz, David Oistrakh and Vladamir Ashkenazy," Halter said. " As a young kid I knew something quite special was going on, often hearing the music from my bedroom door." The musical attachments 1021 Wellington held for him didn't break after his family moved out. He wound up back inside its walls in 2005, when the Asper family hosted what Halter called " an epic party" during the Juno Awards in Winnipeg. Halter's design studio designed T- shirts given to performers and participants at the awards. Arriving at the party, he looked around his old home to see none other than Randy Bachman of the Guess Who fame sporting one of his company's T- shirts. That coincidence led to a funny introduction and " brief but fun" design collaboration, Halter said. " ' Randy, it's a huge honour to meet you, and especially wonderful because you're in my dining room and you're wearing one of my shirts,' " Halter recalled saying. He said his heart goes out to the family who now has to deal with the aftermath of the fire. " So sorry for the family who have lost their treasure," Halter said. The house was once owned by Graeme Sifton, the great- grandson of Clifford Sifton, one of the original owners of the Free Press . He owned the house from 1989 until 2004. An email sent Monday by Melanie Sifton- Borger, Graeme's former wife, stated: " In the early ' 90s ( the Siftons) had an opportunity to have Leo Mol himself set the bronze statue of Fawn & Deer that graced the front of the home," she recalled. The arts community was welcomed at many fundraising events hosted there, said Sifton- Borger in the email. " There were many milestones and fond memories shared in this gracious home," she said. " I have spent the last day- and- a- half through tears poring over the pictures in the news of the fire devastation... My heart goes out to the Dornetshuber family." james. turner@ freepress. mb. ca F IRE investigators continued to sift through the charred remains of a storied Wellington Crescent home on Monday, searching for the cause of a $ 5- million blaze that destroyed a Winnipeg family's " dream home." The recently redesigned mansion at 1021 Wellington Cres. sustained massive damage after catching fire early Sunday. There were no injuries reported. A large contingent of fire crews, police and other emergency responders were called to the riverside property around 6: 20 a. m. to battle what appeared to be a very stubborn blaze that tore through the roof. " We're very much shaken right now," the home's owner, Karl Dornetshuber, said in a brief interview by phone not long after the fire broke out. He, his wife and two children had taken a trip to Edmonton over the weekend. " There might be nothing left," said Dornetshuber, the owner of Marquette Gravel Supply. The family moved into the home in 2009. It was a " dream house" for them, he said. Dornetshuber spoke with Winnipeg police Sunday morning and was making attempts to try to get a flight home. Dornetshuber said he was relieved no one was hurt. The family immigrated to Canada from Austria in 2009, according to neighbours. Winnipeg police said there were no apparent injuries and a financial estimate of damage was not yet available. Arson strike force members were called to the blaze for their investigative skills and not because the fire has been deemed suspicious. " By no means are we identifying this as an arson," Const. Jason Michalyshen said. Firefighters remained at the scene well into Sunday evening and continued to try to snuff out the smouldering fire. A large perimeter was set up, blocking access to the crescent between Montrose and Ash streets. Neighbour Daren Jorgenson expressed relief nobody was hurt and indicated the damage to the family's home was very sad to see. The home was completely renovated in 2009 and " thoroughly modernized" on the inside, according to a design profile from Winnipeg- based Syverson Monteyne Architecture. " This massive investment of time and energy was motivated by the new owner's desire to make a comfortable and stylish home for his young family in Canada. Immigrating to Canada from Europe, the new residents brought their sense of style as well as several containers full of construction materials, furniture and fixtures," the profile said. " The existing house was stripped down to the studs to allow the new additions to be well- integrated," said the firm. The mansion, given its stately history, has made headlines several times over the last decade. In September 2004, it was featured in the Free Press when it landed on the market for what was a massive listing price at the time. " The home has through the years been owned by some of the most wealthy of Winnipeg's citizens, families with the names of Sures, Smith, Peterson, Halter, Sifton and Asper," Gloria Taylor wrote. It was then priced for sale at $ 1.9 million - at a time when the most anyone had ever paid for a Manitoba home was $ 1.7 million. The house was built by Lount Construction, owned by construction magnate Frank Lount, in 1933. james. turner@ freepress. mb. ca ' Awesome memories' up in smoke: ex- resident By James Turner ' There might be nothing left' SUPPLIED PHOTO Leo Mol with one of his sculptures in front of 1021 Wellington Cres., in a Sifton family photo. MELISSA TAIT / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The aftermath of the fire at 1021 Wellington Cres. seen from the rear Monday. The structure was partially knocked to the ground on Monday to help investigators. Cause sought in $ 5- million mansion blaze By James Turner SCAN TO SEE VIDEO B_ 01_ Feb- 18- 14_ FP_ 01. indd B1 2/ 17/ 14 10: 23: 10 PM ;