A New England Color Tour and Adventure – Newport Rhode Island

For a number of years, I have wanted to attend the Newport Jazz and Music Festival but alas I have not been able to put it on my schedule.  While I have known Newport Rhode Island is much more than a just a music venue, I really hadn’t thought about it much.  OK, I remember the America’s Cup Race was held there for many years (until the Cup was lost to Australia in 1983) but beyond that I didn’t have a clue about the history of the place.

Our adventure today was to visit Newport – a drive around with a local guide and time to tour The Breakers.  Founded in 1639 Newport was one of the most import port cities in the North American Colonies during the 18^th century.  Commerce included the importation and sale of enslaved persons as well as manufactures of whale-oil candles, rum and fine furniture.  The Revolutionary War didn’t help the place much and the entire area declined after the war.  In the mid 1800’s things began to improve as it become a fashionable summer resort favored for its temperate oceanside climate.

During the late 1800’s – The Gilded Age – Newport gained prominence as leaders of finance and industry (the 1 percenters of the time) from New York and elsewhere built ever larger ‘summer cottages’ and enjoyed a glittering social life of dinners, sports and lots and lots of parties.  By the turn of the century, these cottages included European-inspired places with servants to support them during the 8 to 10-week summer ‘season’.

The Vanderbilt family seemed to particularly like Newport building several ‘cottages’ include The Marble House (1982) and Breakers(1895).  Others included a Nevada silver heiress, Theresa Fair Oelrichs who built Rosecliff in 1902 .  Our focus for our tour was on The Breakers – which is considered the grandest of Newport’s summer “cottages” and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial pre-eminence in the Gilded Age.

The Grand Staircase and a view of the area from the balcony.

However, prior to getting to the Breakers we did drive around the city and in particular the spot where the Jazz and Music Festival is held.  Once we finished our couch tour, we were dropped off at the Breakers to allow us to explore this property.

The Breakers was built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II.  He purchased the property for $450,000 and he commissioned the creation of the ‘cottage’. This 70-room mansion, with a gross area of 138,300 square feet and 62,482 square feet of living area on five floors, and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Renaissance Revival style; the interior decor was by Jules Allard and Sons and Ogden Codman Jr.

Concerned that the prior house, on the property, had been destroyed by fire, Vanderbilt insisted that the building be made as fireproof as possible, resulting in a structure composed of masonry and steel trusses, with no wooden parts. He even required that the boiler be located away from the house in an underground space below the front lawn.

The interior was created using marble imported from Italy and Africa and rare woods and mosaics from countries around the world.  The project was completed in 1892.  When completed, it was the largest, most opulent house in Newport area.  Upon his death, the property went his wife who outlived him by 35 years whereupon she left it to her youngest daughter Countess Gladys Széchenyi.

In 1948, Gladys leased the high-maintenance property to The Preservation Society of Newport County for $1 per year.  It is now the most-visited attraction in Rhode Island, with approximately 450,000 visitors annually as of 2017.

The recent HBO series – The Gilded Age – filmed a portion of their program in The Breakers.

After we finished our tour of the property, we were the last ones on the bus, we headed out to Vermont where we might actually see some fall color!