"The following is excerpted from a column written by L. Pierce Carson for the 13 April 2006 edition of the Napa Valley Register:
[In 2005], [Wine Spectator] editor and publisher Marvin Shanken paid $1.8 million for the century old Noyes Mansion at the northeast corner of First and Jefferson streets. For a large chunk of 2005, teams from Architectural Resource Group and Napa-based contractor Andrews and Thornley were busy carrying out Shanken's plan to restore the stately mansion's 19th-century luster.
After spending about as much as he paid for the property, Shanken and his Wine Spectator team were able to move their Napa offices into the restored residence just a few weeks ago....
Frank Noyes, a Napa lumber dealer, built this grand home on the western edge of town in 1903 and lived in it until 1956. The adjacent Bank of America was once the home's horse pasture.
When Frank and Hannah Noyes moved into their home it had 10 rooms, including a large billiard room and an enclosed sleeping porch. With an adjacent carriage house and landscaping, cost of construction was reported to be about $43,000. Some time later, the Noyes added a tennis court to the approximate 3-acre site. When the Noyes first moved into the home, their primary mode of transportation was horse-drawn carriage.
After Noyes sold the grand home, it was carved into offices for the Napa Valley Unified School District. Later, it became home to an eclectic mix of offices, clothing and craft boutiques, hair salons and spas." (
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