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anniedeighnaugh

Monticello Replica

Annie Deighnaugh
9 years ago

For those of you who are fans of TJ or his architectural style, the guy who was a co-founder of Friendly's, at age 99, decided to build a Monticello replica in CT.

{{gwi:2140543}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Yours for $6,500,000

Comments (16)

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    9 years ago

    Wow, not quite the same, but still a rather good effort.
    A family in our county built a mini-replica of Washington's Mount Vernon some years ago; I should try to drive by some time and see what became of it.
    Casey

  • kitchendetective
    9 years ago

    Interesting that Jefferson had a Victorian scullery style kitchen.
    ;

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    Here's the original for comparison

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    The replica looks a little bald, probably because it's so new and it lacks shutters. But the proportions look pretty good if not identical (and that's what usually gets screwed up, imo, as they try to "replicate" but use standard modern building materials).

    The inside, from what I can see, is a bit overwrought compared to the original.

    This post was edited by palimpsest on Mon, Dec 8, 14 at 9:44

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    I think it's a big mistake to have a strairwelll in the entry hall, as that is such a distinguishing feature. I also don't see anything that looks like his library. as I remember it.

    So I'm gonna have to pass on this one. : )

  • deegw
    9 years ago

    I haven't lived in CT for many years but isn't that a less than desirable area? And he is 99? And he built the house on spec?

    What an odd story.

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    Where's the built-in bed?

  • 4boys2
    9 years ago

    Too bad he couldn't save the cute chapel that was once there.

    Here is a link that might be useful: House prior to tear down

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Some of the difficult apparently had to do with the current building codes requiring a full egress 2nd story which Jefferson didn't have to deal with. Below is a video that explains some of it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: video on construction

  • deegw
    9 years ago

    Forboys - too funny. I was just researching the property as well, The prior sale was 12 acres, the new sale is 9. Is it possible that the original house wasn't torn down?

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    9 years ago

    >Where's the built-in bed?

    LOL, that was my first thought, too--why skip the alcove bed?

  • 4boys2
    9 years ago

    No ..it was all torn down ...Do a Google Earth.
    Even that little pond is gone.
    To each their own :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Google View

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    Yeah, that's what I meant by library, iirc the alcove bed was next to his desk. Also his library led to a solarium of sorts?

    But the biggest no no in my book are steps in the entry. It's all just a gallery. No steps. To wit:

    This post was edited by mtnrdredux on Mon, Dec 8, 14 at 10:42

  • athomeinvagw
    9 years ago

    I do not think that Thomas Jefferson would be too happy to see this being related to his Monticello, just copying the exterior is not enough. His architectural principles of symmetry and proportion pertained to both the exterior and interior.
    Monticello main floor plan:
    {{gwi:2140545}}

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    I think a simple staircase that connected to the gallery in Jefferson's original plan would have sufficed rather than the faux Antebellum one in the new version.

    I wonder what Jefferson would build if he were alive today. As much as he based his work on Greek forms, in many ways he was a modernist. He repainted the dining room in Chrome Yellow, not because it's the best color for a dining room, but because it was new, hard to come by and expensive and he was an innovator.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    We were just there last spring, and what I loved most was his quarters on the left. The library connected to his office and bedroom, and leading to the greenhouse/piazza. It's a big miss not to have captured that, though i do appreciate it would be a challenge.