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A gaff suitable for Gatsby

A £5.8 million Connecticut mansion

 

Completed in 1906, Sharon, Connecticut’s most impressive home is undoubtedly a property named Filston House. Better known as “The Colgate Mansion”, the J. William Cromwell, Jr. designed residence was built in an Italian Renaissance style and is for sale at reduced price of £5.8 million.

 

The exterior of The Colgate Mansion, 138 Amenia Road, Sharon, CT 06069, United States of America
Romulus “Rome” Riggs Colgate (1858-1926)
Paul Leka (1943 – 2011)

Launched to the market for £7.1 million in May 2012 and originally the home of Romulus “Rome” Riggs Colgate (1858 – 1926), the 12,057 square foot mansion stands on 106 acres and includes 9 bedrooms and numerous reception rooms. It was bought by the producer and singer-songwriter Paul Leka (1943 – 2011) in 1978 and now, following his death, his wife has decided to sell through Sotheby’s.

The gates to the 106 acre estate
The Colgate Mansion includes a vast reception hallway
With a grand staircase at one end

 

Constructed, according to the agents, at a cost of $2 million (the equivalent of £27.7 million today), The Colgate Mansion mixes a variety of styles including neo-Gothic, French Empire, Palladian and Corinthian. Bizarrely, somehow, this mishmash works and the result is perhaps best surmised by the New York Social Diary’s John  Foreman, who describes it as having a “zany architectural eclecticism”.

 

Gothic doorways number amongst the array of architectural details
One of many opulent reception rooms
A mahogany paneled dining room
An image of the mansion taken circa 1936 prior to the house, contents and 100 acres being sold for $25,000 in 1938
The rear of the house at that time

Used partly as a studio during Paul Leka’s occupation, The Colgate Mansion undoubtedly is ready for a makeover by an incoming purchaser. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye will no doubt play as Leka’s wife, Engjellushe, makes her final journey down the estate’s carriage drive.

 

 

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