The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn-of-the-century America. The Vanderbilt fortune was established in steamships and railroads by commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794 - 1877). During the course of the 19th century, Cornelius Vanderbilt developed an extensive line of steamships that commanded the coastal trade and the transport of passengers to California via Nicaragua for the Gold Rush of 1849.

Chateau-sur-Mer is a landmark of the High Victorian Age in America. The house was the most palatial residence in Newport from its construction in 1852 until the appearance of the Vanderbilt houses in the 1890's. Chateau-sur-Mer was the scene for memorable entertainments hosted by the Wetmore family, from the "Fete Champetre", an elaborate country picnic, for over two thousand guests held in 1857 to the debutante ball for Miss Edith Wetmore in 1889.

The Isaac Bell House is one of the best surviving examples of shingle style architecture in the country. The house was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead and White in 1883 for Isaac Bell, a wealthy cotton broker and investor.

The Elms was the summer residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind of Philadelphia and New York. Mr. Berwind made a fortune in the Pennsylvania coal industry. In 1898, the Berwinds engaged the Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer to design a house modeled after the mid-18th century French chateau d'Asnieres (c.1750). Construction of The Elms began in 1899 and was completed in 1901 at a cost reported at approximately $1,400,000. The interiors and furnishings were designed by Allard and Sons of Paris and were the setting for the Berwinds' collection of Renaissance ceramics, 18th century French and Venetian paintings, and Oriental jades.

Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. It was designed as a summer house, or "cottage", as Newporters called them in remembrance of the modest houses of the early 19th century. Marble House was more than a cottage, it was a social and architectural landmark that set the pace for Newport's subsequent transformation from a quiet summer colony of wooden houses to the legendary resort of opulent stone palaces. Mr. Vanderbilt was the grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who established the family's fortune in steamships and the New York Central Railroad. Mrs. Vanderbilt envisioned Marble House as her "temple to the arts" in America. It was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt and furnished by the Parisian cabinetmakers Allard and Sons. The cost of the house was reported in contemporary press accounts to be $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on the 500,000 cubic feet of marble required for construction.

The Rose Cliff. In 1889, Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs commissioned the architect Stanford White, of the firm McKim, Mead and White, to design a summer house for her entertaining. Before the Oelrichs and Stanford White transformed the property, George Bancroft owned the original cottage on the site. Mr. Bancroft was a noted historian, Secretary of the Navy and an amateur horticulturalist who developed the American Beauty Rose. The new Rosecliff was completed in 1902 at a reported cost of $2.5 million. Mrs. He

The Isaac Bell House is one of the best surviving examples of shingle style architecture in the country. The house was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead and White in 1883 for Isaac Bell, a wealthy cotton broker and investor. kingscotte Kingscote (1839-41) is a landmark of the Gothic Revival style in American architecture. Its appearance in Newport marked the beginning of the “cottage boom” that would distinguish the town as a veritable laboratory for the design of picturesque houses throughout the 19th century. The southern planter George Noble Jones commissioned the English born architect Richard Upjohn to design a summer cottage along a country road, known as Bellevue Avenue, on the outskirts of town. Upjohn created a highly original “cottage orne,” or ornamental cottage, in the Gothic Revival style for the Jones family. The general effect was romantic- a fanciful composition of towers, windows, Gothic arches and porch roofs inspired by medieval tournament tents. Read my Dreambook! Sign my Dreambook! [ Next | |Previous | Random ] This RingSurf Always Victorian Net Ring owned by Newports Summer Homes, Era 1700-1900 [ Skip Next | Next 5 Sites | Statistics Site | |List Sites ] This RingSurf Divine Diva of the Web Net Ring owned by Nicole. Previous Next Next 5 Sites Join List Newprt R.I Mansions is a WOTW Site.. [ Previous | Next | Random Site | List