Almost $8M Toronto home is rumoured to have bomb shelter backyard

Tucked between High Park and the always-buzzy Roncesvalles, this Toronto Arts and Crafts bungalow isn't just rare — it's borderline surreal.

For starters, 270 Indian Rd. sits on over half an acre of meticulously landscaped grounds.

There are terraces, patios, an irrigated garden filled with eye-popping plants, and enough privacy to forget you're in the middle of the city.

The family room with a wood-burning fireplace. 

And then there's the house itself.

Intricate stained glass adorns the main entry doors and side lights, and the foyer has a barrel ceiling punctuated by two hand-blown Murano glass pendant lamps.

"The house was originally built by Toronto steel industry magnate William G. Harris in 1924," realtor Brian Gray told blogTO. 

The large veranda. 

The home leans hard into its handcrafted Arts and Crafts roots with a dramatic, low-slung roofline clad in slate, copper downspouts, a deep veranda, and not one but two stately chimneys.

The formal living room with a wood-burning fireplace. 

Inside, 270 Indian Rd. offers nearly 6,000 square feet of pure character.

The dining room with three-quarter oak wainscotting and a plate rail.

Beam ceilings, oak panelling, leaded glass windows, handblown Murano fixtures, and enough built-ins to make me weep.

Lighted dome ceiling with hand-painted star pattern and circular floor inlay. 

There's wood marquetry, plaster crown mouldings, and carefully restored details everywhere you look.

The main floor study has built-in bookcases, a wood-burning fireplace and leaded windows. 

That said, this house isn't a museum piece.

The kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances. 

The previous owners brought in architect Catherine Friis to modernize the home for a family of four. 

The basement recreation room. 

So, all the behind-the-scenes stuff — radiant heating, updated mechanicals, proper HVAC — is fully up to date. 

The garage. 

And just when you think it couldn't get better, you find the three-bay heated garage that doubles as a full-on entertainment space, complete with a bar, projection TV, and nightclub lighting. 

Inside the art studio. 

There's also a fully winterized art studio on the grounds.

The exterior of the art studio. 

But maybe the best part of the house is all the lore and history attached to it.

The lush garden with full irrigation system and night lighting.

For example, according to a Globe and Mail feature when the house last on the market, there's a time capsule buried somewhere on the property from the original owner's grandson — and it's apparently still there.

The fourth bedroom has a secret room.

There were also long-standing rumours of a backyard bomb shelter, which sounds dramatic until it was later confirmed to just be… a cold cellar.

The library. 

Slightly less thrilling, but still fun.

The second-floor bathroom. 

There's even some light historical intrigue. 

The beamed ceiling matches harmoniously with the quarter-sawn oak floor.

Amateur historians have speculated that Harris may have been connected to the family who created the storied Massey-Harris farm equipment company, which included Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris, who apparently did their advertising.

The primary bedroom. 

Nothing has ever been officially confirmed, but it adds another layer to the whole "this house has stories" vibe.

The back of the house. 

Currently, 270 Indian Rd. is listed for $7,615,000.