ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Shirley Sumaisar’s home on Bertmount Avenue, near Queen Street East and Jones Avenue, is littered with weather-beaten and discoloured toys, dolls and knick-knacks.

It’s been featured in international publications such as Atlas Obscura, has its own Google Maps landmark and is number 479 on Tripadvisor’s 692-item-long list of “Things to Do in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½.”

But the Leslieville doll house now has an extra item on its front porch — a for-sale sign. 

and will be marketed for five days. It “is open for private viewings as of now,� said Nadine Comeau, the listing agent for the property. Offers will be reviewed July 17, she said. 

Sumaisar started decorating the house three decades ago, said her son, Tom Sumaisar, with the help of his brother.

“People all over the world thank me,â€� she told the Star in a rare interview nearly a decade ago. “It’s my hobby, and it’s my son’s hobby.”

Now 83, Sumaisar needs more care and is moving closer to the rest of her family, Tom explained.

What happens to the ornamentation on the outside will be up to the new owner. Other homes in area are selling between $1.5 million and $2 million.

Comeau said there’s been some conversation about having a community event, “where people around the neighbourhood, people who have appreciated it can come and take a treasure or token, maybe to put on their front lawn.”

“Both my parents are realtors and have been in the business over 40 years, working in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ and Durham Region mostly,” Comeau said. “But we’ve never been involved with something as exciting as this.”

An icon for some, an eyesore for others

It started off with flowers. Tom’s mother would adorn the front yard with an immaculate garden every year, even earning an award from the city for it, he said.

Each year, as the flowers started to wilt and the trees leaves turned orange and brown, she would transition to Halloween decorations, with toys and dolls that were meant to be temporary.

As she got older, the gardening became more difficult, and “slowly the figurines took,” Tom explained.

It’s for the children nearby that she started her collection, he said. That’s the reason the decorations on the home were important to her.

A daycare comes by almost every day during their lunch break “when they want to take the kids out when they’re cranky,” Tom said. They would just stop and stare, pointing out the small faces and familiar characters, laughing for half an hour before being pulled away.

“This is what really made her happy. This is what kept her going.”

Every now and then, a stranger would leave a doll on Sumaisar’s front porch. She’s taken gifts from strangers off the street. They all go up on the string of toys and dolls, forming a shell of plastic and plush around the front porch.

Now, Tom hopes to move his mother and brother, who also has care needs, closer to his east-end home.

“I would love for her to stay, but I said ‘Mom you can’t do this,’” Tom added. “But you know how moms are, they’re stubborn, right.

“She’s very sad to leave, she doesn’t want to leave.”

Tom said the legacy of the house will undoubtedly live on. 

“I don’t think she realizes how international it is.”