A nearly century-old Lakewood estate known as Château des Grotteaux, once home to former Dallas Mayor R.L. Thornton, is heading to auction with initial bids expected to land between $2 million and $3 million. The property at 6941 Gaston Ave. sits on the market after a recent multimillion-dollar renovation, and its sale is being handled through a global auction platform rather than a traditional listing process.
The auction is managed by Concierge Auctions and will run live from The Upper House in Hong Kong and online between September 16 and September 29, 2026, with a bidder registration deadline of September 15, according to Concierge Auctions. As reported by The Dallas Morning News, the sale itself is expected to occur September 30, 2026, and Château des Grotteaux LLC, operated by Ellen and George Smith, currently owns the property.
From $6 Million Listing to Auction Block
Château des Grotteaux — French for “house of caves” — was first listed for about $6 million in September 2025 before being reduced and last listed for $5.8 million, per the Dallas Morning News. The Dallas Central Appraisal District has valued the home at about $4.1 million for tax purposes, according to the appraisal district, leaving a wide gap between that figure and the auction's expected starting range.
Alysee Compton, who listed the home and works for Stewart-Rose Properties, said the time of year and current housing market were factored into the decision to send the estate to auction rather than continue a traditional sale. A previous listing described by Candy's Dirt priced the home at $6.049 million before it was cut to $5.8 million, following even earlier listing attempts by past owners that ranged between $1.8 million and $2.89 million.
A Renovation That Doubled the Home's Footprint
The estate now spans over 7,700 square feet across four levels after a massive multi-year renovation completed in 2025, per the same account from Candy's Dirt. The expansion added a master suite, two other bedrooms, several bathrooms, a new kitchen, a garage, and a basement featuring a wine room with an open bar area. Château des Grotteaux now includes six bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms, along with its signature twin turrets and an expansive driveway.
The home's roots stretch back to 1927, when construction on the nearly one-acre site began under builder Edwin Cox Sr., before R.L. Thornton purchased the unfinished French Normandy-style estate following the 1929 stock market crash, according to the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate. Thornton went on to start the home's garden and lived there with his family for decades. The estate historically featured what was believed to be Dallas's second oldest residential swimming pool along with grottoes and a legendary underground tunnel rumored to have once moved alcohol to White Rock Lake during Prohibition, before the City of Dallas sealed it, per the Advocate's reporting. Thornton's daughter, Rosemary Brinegar, recalled in oral history interviews that during World War II the family removed and donated one of the property's original custom iron gates as scrap metal to support the wartime defense effort, the outlet notes.
The Man Behind the Name — and the Controversy
Before serving as Dallas mayor from 1953 to 1961, Thornton spent 30 years as president of Mercantile National Bank starting in 1916, pioneering auto consumer loans in the 1920s, according to the Texas State Historical Association. He also served as president of the State Fair of Texas from 1945 to 1960, promoted the Forney Dam and the construction of new city hall and library buildings, and was remembered by many as “Mr. Dallas.” A Dallas freeway still bears his name today.
That legacy has not gone unchallenged. In August 2020, Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua formally petitioned to rename the R.L. Thornton Freeway after civil rights leader Juanita J. Craft, citing Thornton's documented 1920s membership in the Ku Klux Klan, according to the Dallas Observer. The renaming debate has continued to shadow Thornton's civic reputation even as his former home now draws international real estate attention.
A Historic Enclave Near White Rock Lake
The property sits within East Dallas's Pasadena subdivision, a 40-acre tract laid out in 1925 as part of a mid-1920s real estate boom that transformed former farmland near White Rock Lake into some of the area's earliest streetcar-era suburban enclaves, according to Flashback: Dallas. The estate is zoned within the Dallas Independent School District and feeds into Lakewood Elementary School, J.L. Long Middle School, and Woodrow Wilson High School, per Realtor.com.
Whether the Hong Kong-based auction draws bids above the tax appraisal's $4.1 million valuation or settles closer to the $2 million to $3 million starting range remains to be seen once bidding closes in late September. For now, the century-old Lakewood landmark stands as both a piece of Dallas real estate history and a reminder of the complicated civic figure who once called it home.
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