Cornelius Vanderbilt II, grandson of the Commodore, purchased in ground in 1885. In 1892 the wood-framed house which had stood on the property was destroyed in a fire. In the subsequent year, Vanderbilt commission architect Richard Morris Hunt to create an Italian Renaissance- style palazzo inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin. Hunt… Continue reading Detailed Extravagance: The Breakers
Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 as a summer "cottage" retreat for Alva and William K. Vanderbilt. It was the first of the Gilded Aged mansions that transformed Newport from a relatively lazy summer colony of wooden houses to a high-society resort of opulent stone palaces. Upon completion, the most lavish house in… Continue reading Detailed Extravagance: Marble House
This past September for Labor Day weekend, I finally made a trip to Rhode Island to visit the Newport Mansions built during the Gilded Age and opened to the public by the Preservation Society of Newport County. Rosecliff, also known formerly as the Hermann Oelrichs House or the J. Edgar Monroe House, was built 1898-1902 at a… Continue reading Detailed Extravagance: Rosecliff
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