In 1928 Ashbel Barney had a French chateau, originally called 'Chateau des Thons' and located outside of Dijon, France, disassembled and shipped to Upper Brookville. According to Monica Randall, the home was first built in the early 16th century and purchased by Voltaire in 1734 (this has however been dispelled). It was apparently abandoned when it was found by Ashbel Barney. Barney was the grandson of Ashbel H. Barney, the one time president of Wells Fargo. Click HERE to see 'Chateau des Thons' on google earth. The house has been for sale for quite some, the listing of which can be found HERE(MLS #: 2172415).
4 comments:
I wrote a post about the mansion awhile back and the owners contacted me -nice as can be. She said how magical it was growing up there. You can see the more recent photos and more information
http://architectdesign.blogspot.com/2008/06/chateau-des-thons.html
Turns out it wasn't owned by Voltaire -that was just a myth and a case of mistaken identity.
Thanks for that. The pictures are listed in the Library of Congress as the Mrs. Coster-Morris residence. The above pics were taken in 1947. And now for the name change...
http://www.thelocationcompanyny.com/mansions/9000-zb.htm
in some of these pic you can see how pitiful some of the renovations are; for instance, the all mirrors dining room -Kyle
Hi Zach, I'm afraid Kyle speaks for me as well. I was oohing and then some over the vintage photos as well as the current exterior photos, however, once I saw the interiors, I had such an unpleasant surprise. So 'decorated' and 'new' looking. So much like the faux chateaux and pavillons we see in Beverly Park and Mulholland Estates in Beverly Hills. As if Candy Spelling had 'done' it up. It breaks one's heart. Where can we reclaim the 17th Century within those lovely walls? I apologize for being so negative. Robert
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