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RIDGEFIELD, Conn. Aside from the multimillion-dollar price tags, the three Ridgefield houses that opened their doors to tours Thursday don't have much in common.
Each is a single-family home, not easily viewed from the street, has a family history and is owned by prominent members of the community. The offices of William Raveis and Prudential Douglas Elliman chose some unique homes to open up for a brief time Thursday.
The Innisfree house on West Mountain Road is listed at $12.5 million and was named after a William Butler Yeats poem by its current owners, the Neligans. They immigrated to Ridgefield in the early 1960s to raise their six children in the 10-bedroom house.
Dr. Neligan is reported to have been an assistant physician to King George V, the father of Queen Elizabeth II, said real estate agent David Everson. The home sits on nearly 90 acres of land and the view from the front door looks across the front hall and over the Bear Mountains.
The Georgian Revival house has played home to many different kinds of families, Everson said, including a doctor in the late 1800s and a shipping magnet in the 1930s, who apparently used his chauffeurs as whiskey runners during Prohibition.
Across town on a similarly set back property is where clothing designer Alexander Julian has his showroom and his nearly $12 million home. The Julians spent five years living in what is now the studio, before the new main living quarters was completed.
Now, their 30-acre property and house is known as an American Arts and Crafts Masterpiece, showcasing 50 to 60 colors across the house and another 60 on the tennis court, in homage to Julians Colours clothing brand.
Smaller in both size and price is the Kadagian home on Market Street, finished in 2001. But even with just more than 2 acres, the $4 million estate still manages a sport court that can change from tennis to basketball, a pool, a 24-seat movie theater and a pub.
According to real estate agent John Saimos, the property may sit directly downtown but you would never know it given how the property is surrounded by trees.
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