I’m lucky that my parents still live in the most beautiful area of New York. We have Niagara Falls, the Finger Lakes, Letchworth State Park, and tons of gorgeous old homes. On one of our trips last fall, we finally made it to Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion.
Sonnenberg was the summer home of Frederick Ferris and Mary Clark Thompson, purchased in 1863. They never had any children, so after their death, it was left to her nephew Emory Clark. In 1931 he sold it to the government, and the Canandaigua VA Hospital was built on the property and their beautiful mansion housed doctors and nurses. In 1952 a nonprofit obtained the title to the property and now we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to tour the gorgeous house and grounds, including their greenhouse and wine cellar/gift shop!
The greenhouses and wine and gift shop.
From the greenhouses, you can either take a lovely walk or climb aboard a golf cart and head up to the house through the gardens.
We were lucky enough to go during the downtime, so we had the house and one of the docents all to ourselves!
Naturally, the home had the most beautiful views of the gardens.
The Husband and I love to tour old, grand homes, and this was no doubt one of our favorites! The inside of the house was so exquisite, yet seemed so inviting at the same time. And those gardens! I could spend days walking around!
Do you have a favorite old house to visit? Let me know in the comments below so I can add it to my list!
Simply beautiful I love watching your adventures !
The Pabst (as in Blue Ribbon beer) Mansion in Milwaukee is quite amazing. Outstanding woodwork and the tour was very informative and interesting.
That sounds awesome! Adding it to the list.