MONTREAL - It not every day that a real estate listing exposes an Alice in Wonderland-type gem hidden in the heart of the city.

A four-bedroom house at 6878 St. Denis in Rosemount, now on sale for $715,000, has drawn attention for its untouched style from an older era.

"It just has that kind of run-down beauty, it looks haunted even though it may not be, it has that feel to it," said visitor Anisha Rangi.

The house was built in 1919 by a businessman for his wife Marie-Anne Carreau and their six children.

The family fell on hard times in the Depression and  Marie-Anne Carreau died in 1944. The spirit of the house remaining intact out of respect.

The hallways are full of mirrors and the modern conveniences are all up-to-date for the 1930s.

"You can see the workmanship," said Jean-Marc Lussier, apparently kicking tires on the house.

"That's been done here through the years and you have to respect that when you renovate these places you can't just strip everything down and restart, you have to keep the history of the building alive," he said.

However the realtor doesn't expect a new purchaser to keep it in its current décor.

"We're looking at electricity, plumbing, the walls, it's a major project but has amazing potential," said Marc Asselin.

"Its basically like an old time machine that completely stopped. we're in the 1920s, or early 30s," he said.