A replica of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Va., has come on the market in Somers, Conn., for $6.5 million. The brainchild of Friendly’s Ice Cream co-founder S. Prestley Blake, who has undertaken numerous building projects in recent years, the estate was a swan song of sorts as he approached the century mark. Blake held [...]
SOMERS, Conn. - Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is on the nickel. Monticello was once on the $2 bill. Monticello also used to be on postage stamps. It is still on schoolhouse walls, postcards and included in books tracing the history of American architecture. And now, a full-sized $6 million replica of Jefferson's Virginia plantation home is [...]
SOMERS, Conn. — S. Prestley Blake turned 100 years old last month, cofounded the Friendly’s restaurant chain with his brother 79 years ago, and probably figures he can do whatever he wants at this stage of his long life. But when he told his wife, Helen, what his swan song would be, her mouth dropped [...]
Fiendly's Ice Cream co-founder S. Prestley Blake has put his dream house on the market in Somers for $6.5 million. The 99-year-old retired businessman spent about 15 months on the project. Blake is a big fan of Thomas Jefferson, and the builders modeled the 10,000-square-foot house after Jefferson's Virginia mansion, Monticello. William Pitt Sotheby's International [...]
A full-sized $6 million replica of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia plantation home is rapidly nearing completion on a hillside in Somers, CT. Friendly’s co-founder S. Prestley Blake, who is nearing 100 years old, is working with Laplante Construction Inc., of East Longmeadow to construct the home that Blake hopes to, one day, be able to sell. [...]
For Brian and Elaine Bredvik, the June 1 tornado was a paradox of loss and liberation. I came across a random quote recently that said there are two types of pain in the world: pain that hurts, and pain that changes you. Last summer's powerful and persistent tornado brought both to Western Massachusetts; but for [...]
SOMERS, Conn - Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is on the nickel. Monticello was once on the $2 bill. Monticello also used to be on postage stamps. It is still on schoolhouse walls, postcards and included in books tracing the history of American architecture. And now, a full-sized $6 million replica of Jefferson's Virginia plantation home is [...]
