Hartland Mansion, Las Vegas Sun, March 6, 1996

Despite fires, zoning disputes and Elvis zealots, Texan has kept the heart Lisa Sciortino Wednesday, March 6, 1996 | 11:59 a.m. It has the feel of a sprawling New England mansion, with its Gatsby-esque foyer checkered with classic black and white tile. On the other hand, the wide living room exudes European elegance: royal blue, floor-length draperies, silk-covered divans and dimly lighted chandeliers. And though no one's quite sure whether Elvis actually slept here, the master bedroom is fit for the King. Despite this mishmash of styles, Hartland Mansion is dominated by one thing: down-home Southern charm. Credit goes to Dallas native Toni Hart, who designed the 30-room white house on South Sixth Street. "Being from Texas, we like high ceilings and big rooms. The staircase is definitely 'Gone With the Wind,'" she says of the emerald-carpeted, wrought-iron-railed arches that descend into the sunlit foyer, where both wings of the massive home meet. Hart, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Las Vegas City Council in 1991, lives in one wing. She and her adult children -- Grammy award-winning gospel singer Larry, drummer/general contractor Gary and actress Linda ("Get Shorty") -- each have rooms to stay in when they visit. But more than a home, the mansion is a full-time job for Hart. "I clean this place," she says with a sigh -- all 31,000 square feet of it. More than 6,000 of those are in the "Party Room" off the back of the house, where Hart plays host to corporate parties, weddings (a doctor of divinity, she performs the ceremonies) and receptions that she books there. Initially, residents of the aging neighborhood of half-century-old homes that surround Hartland objected to the soirees, citing traffic and noise problems. It became a zoning ordinance nightmare until 1990, when the City Council officially gave her the green light. Over the years, Ginger Rogers, Willie Nelson, Susan Anton and the Smothers Brothers have held or attended shindigs in the room, which was built around a 40-foot-long pool, which is complete with a bridge and surrounded by ceramic swans. There's a dance floor, two bars, dozens of white tables and chairs, and faux trees decorated with more than 3,000 tiny white lights. Hollywood set up shop in there two years ago to film several scenes for the movie "Casino." Robert De Niro's character, Sam "Ace" Rothstein, proposed to Sharon Stone's "Ginger" on Hart's furniture. Come to think of it, the history of this palatial home has got Movie of the Week written all over it. Elvis sightings So, did he or didn't he? Hart won't confirm or deny the reported Elvis sightings she's heard about from neighbors. "They have told us over the years that they saw his bus here, but I don't know, I didn't see the bus here," she says. Gloria Shorter did. "The bus had Elvis all over it," says the retired casino worker, who lived in a modest home down the street for several years. "When my husband and I moved into our home, the real-estate man mentioned that the home on the corner was purchased by Elvis and, although he wasn't there all the time, he felt there must have been times when he visited. We really didn't put much stock in it," she says. Later, she learned it was an "eccentric" jeweler, not the King, who ruled the castle. "He had a pool in the back there (the one in the Party Room) with a boat in it." And the bus? "It belonged to the man, I guess. He used to drive it around town all the time," Shorter says. "I never actually talked to him. All I can tell you is what I saw." The fires The daughter of an oil man, Hart is a former entertainer who entered show business as a teen, touring the country with her husband performing gospel and country tunes. She could play 17 instruments. "I did all of those instruments in one song, kind of like Barbara Mandrell does," she says. A gig at the old MGM Grand brought them to Las Vegas in '76 and she decided to stay. Two years later, she purchased the original estate, which consisted of two smaller homes on a lot that took up about one-quarter of the block. Soon after Hart signed the deed, she, her sons and some "hired help" took to the task of renovating the estate. But in 1980, while she was on the East Coast going through "a very bad divorce," one of the homes burned to the ground. The cause: faulty electrical wiring. In a double whammy, fire struck the following year, this time at the other house, which was uninsured. Some charred framework was all that remained. "I was standing out in the street and the television cameras were there and I was crying," she recalls. "It was just devastating. I prayed to God that he would help me get out of this mess. "I bought three hammers, and my sons and I got on top (of the house) and we started spreading plywood," she says. "We were so down and out and discouraged, but we worked here 18 hours a day." That's also how Hart stumbled into the hostess business. Party planners began stopping by to ask if she'd consider opening the place to the public. "They heard about what we were doing, they saw how humongous it was gonna be." She didn't even flinch at the thought of having perpetual house guests. It was one way of getting back into entertainment -- sort of. "We were not in music anymore because we were in construction," she quips. By the time Hart moved in ('83), little of the original home remained -- mainly the pool. However, the master bedroom, dubbed "The Elvis Room," was rebuilt in the same spot. "We assumed that if he did in fact live here, that would have been where he lived," she says. It's decked out in an Oriental motif -- gold-colored fabrics, traditional designs -- that's carried into the adjoining bathroom. John, john And speaking of bathrooms, Hartland's facilities are the heart and soul of the place -- literally. "Heart," a.k.a. the ladies' room, is a downright perky place. Its long, red walls are adorned with -- what else -- small white hearts (red ones circle the toilet bowl). The tub was transformed into a cozy, cushioned loveseat. The men's room down the hall is called "Soul" (interesting that the color scheme is black and white). Brass fixtures, thick carpet and a black toilet lend a certain chic appeal to it. The uniqueness of the bathrooms half explains some of the other oddities around the mansion. There's a rhinestone-and-mirror-covered piano (her son decorated it as a boy) in one corner. Yards and yards of silk fabric have been pulled into a tuft on the dining room ceiling. And there's a fully decorated Christmas tree in the living room. "We say it's Christmas at Hartland all year long, so we just leave it up," she says. And don't forget about the restaurant out back. Three years ago, Hart opened Cafe 525, a small tea room with a lunch menu featuring salads, sandwiches and deserts. Ah, home sweet home. "We just try to turn on as much Southern charm as we can," Hart says.