Most popular of all the Newport estates is e Breakers, a mammoth illustration
of Italian Renaissance design built in 1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt and his wife.
Tremendous in both riches and reach, the mansion, which sits on 13 acres and
sprawls a tremendous 138,000 square feet, boasts touches of Greek and Roman
architecture and a level of ornamentation favored by upper-crust tastes of the
time. e only rival to e Breakers in any contest of size is e Elms, a 1899-1901
reinterpretation of an 18th-century French chateau—but just slightly, and only in
percentage of land, 13.5 acres.
e Newport Mansions, says Miller, "represent in the history of American domestic
architecture a search for a national sle, ranging from the Georgian-inspired
architecture of the Colonial period to the internationalism of the historical sles
represented by Beaux Arts architecture, and are the result of a collaboration between
the most important architects and patrons in the nation at that time." As museums,
their holdings include a wide spectrum of possessions and collectibles, while also
reflecting how their individual inhabitants perceived themselves. Ambitious,
certainly, if not a good deal self-important, but also dedicated patrons of fine design.
e architecture also mirrors its particular period: in chronological sle, interior
floor-plan and, notes Miller, "in the way in which the house embraces its setting,
with the wraparound wooden verandas of the early houses giving way to the
imposing masonry terraces of the Gilded Age villas; in the way in which the
service areas operate and are laid out, with a move towards ever more efficient and
discrete service; in the volume and layout of furnishings and objects; and in the
incorporation of the latest marvels of technology, from early interior baths to the
introduction of elevators."
e end of the Great War saw Newport's populari decline.
e new income tax caused a lag in extravagance and
expenditures, and newer, accessible resorts were on the rise.
A number of Newport Coun mansions were demolished;
others were transformed into educational institutions,
condominiums, or museums. Many are still occupied as
seasonal, single-family residences.
Taking in Newport as a whole, one cannot escape the irony:
a colony of historic homes, all invaluable to the American
story, built from the vast fortunes of the privileged few, but
inherited and enjoyed by all.
(clockwise from le) e Breakers, Newport's grandest Gilded Age
mansion; the dining room of the Elms; the Marble House foyer.
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