Newport Rhode Island Mansions Tour

The Breakers

The Breakers is one of the Vanderbilt mansions of Newport. It is located on Ochre Point Avenue, part of the Bellevue Avenue Historic District. It is regarded by many as the most opulent of all of the mansions. Construction of the home began in 1893 by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, who used The Breakers as merely his summer home. Cornelius spent $7 million dollars on construction, a bargain in today's standards, but with inflation, that number equates to around $150 million. The fine details and quality materials that make up the mansion could not likely be reproduced today.

The mansion contains pieces imported from Africa, Italy, and France, such as marble, mantel pieces, and other details. The Breakers was passed down from Cornelius Vanderbilt II, who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, to his wife Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt. She passed the property onto her daughter Gladys. Countess Sylvia Szapary then sold the property to the Newport Preservation Society in 1972, with the stipulation that the family could still live on the closed-to-the-public third floor (and still to this day!). The Breakers is now the top tourist destination in Newport and the entire state of Rhode Island.

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Marble House

With construction beginning on Marble House in 1888, this beautiful stone mansion was the first of many more to come along Bellevue Ave. The home was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt, part of the wealthy railroad tycoons of the 1800's, the Vanderbilt family. The home was given by Mr. Vanderbilt to his wife as a 39th birthday present. Outside, the home can be seen with its magnificent, towering stone columns.

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Chatea Sur Mer

Chatreau Sur Mer was built by William Shepard Wetmore in 1852. The home predated most of the other Newport mansions of Bellevue Ave. Today, it is open to the public as a museum, owned by the Newport Preservation Society. Unlike many of the other mansions of Newport, this home was built as a full time residence, not a summer home.

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The Elms

Once upon a time, the Elms was almost demolished to make room for a new property. Thankfully, the Newport Preservation Society purchased this historic landmark and spared the building from certain ruin. It was built in 1899 by the Berwind family, modeled after the Château d'Asnières in France. The property sits directly on the cliffs of Newport, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The exterior was once beautifully landscaped with Elms, which have succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease. In their place are weeping beech trees today.

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Rosecliff

On the inside of Rosecliff, you may recognize its stunning ballroom from the movie True Lies. The exterior is one of the most remarkable mansions for its lush, green landscaping and pure white Ionic pilasters. The home was modeled after the Grand Trianon of Versailles. The home was used mainly as a place to host grand events during Newport's Gilded Age. Theresa Fair Oelrichs initially built the mansion in 1891. The backyard grounds have an exceptional view of the Atlantic Ocean and Newport coastline, stretching all the way to Tiverton.

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This mansion is still in private hands, and was put on the real estate market by the Tinney family in 2009.

Learn more about Belcourt Castle here.