® 2018 Make Your Own History Newport, Rhode Island NewportMansions.org 401.847.1000 A Warm Welcome The Breakers is Waiting for You! Create Your Own Whatever your interest - servant life, fashion, decorative arts, technology, architecture, landscapes Newport Mansions Experience or family history - you’ll find it at the Newport at The Breakers Welcome Center Mansions. You can learn about our audio or guided tours, behind- the-scenes and underground tours, children’s tours, garden tours and more, at The Breakers Welcome Center. You can also purchase tickets and memberships on-line or at each of the Newport Mansions. Refreshments are available all day long for ticketed guests and members. There’s something for everyone at Welcome Center at The Breakers the Newport Mansions. Beneath The Breakers Underground Tour See the technology that made the elegance possible. Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II See the boiler room, tunnel and basement of THE B REAKERS 1895 National Historic Landmark The Breakers as you learn The Breakers is a surviving jewel of the New York about the new domestic Central Railroad fortune, making a statement about the global sensibilities of the Vanderbilt family. The 70-room technology that transformed summer estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt II includes a two daily life in the Gilded Age, and a half story high Great Hall and a Morning Room including adorned with platinum leaf wall panels. Its interiors feature rare marble, alabaster, • The development and gilded woods throughout. of electricity; The Breakers Boiler Room • The emergence of the modern elevator; THE B REAKERS “Exceptional. The NEW FAMILY T OUR • The modern plumbing basement tour of how the & laundry facilities; heat/electric/water systems Children will love hearing the all worked was incredible. voice of The Breakers “talk” • The revolutionary The technology at the time directly to them in this imaginative infrastructure that heated audio tour. Hear from family and cooled the great house. this was built is amazing.” members and staff, and see fanciful creatures like the dolphin hiding Trip Advisor Traveler Reservations Required under the grand staircase and the dragons in the dining room. Review NewportMansions.org Bring YOUR family – and your imagination! 401.847.1000 nd; Teapot, 1882, James Hadley for Royal Worcester Porcelain Company, The Art Institute of Chicago, Eloise W. Martin Acquisition Fu restricted gift of Maureen Savaiano, Jamie Maloney, Mr. and Mrs. James Knox, Terry Perucca, 2010.273 Through November 4 Rosecliff This exhibition celebrates the ideals of the Aesthetic Movement (1870-1890), featuring furniture, ceramics, wallpaper, glass, silver, paintings and clothing illuminating the tenets of this “art for art’s sake” movement personified by its most influential ROSECLIff 1902 impresario, Oscar Wilde. The audio tour brings Rosecliff’s Included with history and romance to life with Rosecliff admission never-before-told stories and first person remembrances of its colorful families. From Tessie Oelrichs, who built this fantasy in terra cotta, to the Monroes of New Orleans, the last Tessie Oelrichs & family family to call Rosecliff home, you’ll c. 1914 discover the very human story of Newport’s great party house. PLAN AN EVENT Glistening white and boasting ocean views, Rosecliff provides the perfect backdrop for any special occasion. Whether planning a corporate event or grand wedding, this Gilded Age masterpiece is the ideal setting. NewportMansions.org • 401.847.1000 “Amazing Tour. This behind-the-scenes-tour shows you a view of the mansion that the main tour doesn’t show you. You walk the house as a servant would have walked the house, going in places the aristocracy would almost never go. A wonderful tour that really shows you how life in a mansion really functions.” THE ELMS 1901 National Historic Landmark Trip Advisor Traveler Review The summer retreat of coal magnate Edward Berwind and his wife Herminie, The Elms was a thoroughly “modern” house in 1901. So technologically advanced for its time it appeared to work “as if by magic,” it also houses monumental art works, including wall-sized Venetian paintings, Chinese lacquer panels and tapestries. THE ELMS SERVANT LIFE TOUR Learn about the men and women who serviced the social whirl of Newport during the Gilded Age. Their work took place out of sight, and they were virtually invisible. But maintaining the elaborate lifestyle of one of Newport’s most elegant homes required the hard work of more than 40 men and women. Go behind-the-scenes, hear the personal stories and see photos of the butler, THE ELMS SUNKEN GARDEN Ernest Birch; his wife, the cook Grace The elaborate Classical Revival gardens on the grounds Rhodes; and one of the maids, Nellie were developed between 1907-1914. At the western end Lynch Regoli. of the property is the lavish sunken garden, with its colorful display of French parterre beds filled with pink begonias, You’ll see… blue ageratum, fine specimen trees, clipped hedges, fountains and marble pavilions. • Basement work areas, including kitchens, laundry room, the boiler room and coal tunnel • Third floor servant living quarters • A rooftop view of Newport (weather permitting) Butler Ernest Birch & Mrs. Birch Please note, this is a true upstairs/downstairs tour. You will climb several flights of stairs. Reservations Required NewportMansions.org 401.847.1000 “Chateau-sur-Mer is beautiful! The restoration of this beautiful and artistically decorated mansion has been excellently accomplished. The woodwork and carvings were amazing and to think it was done by hand! ” Trip Advisor Traveler Review MARBLE HOUSE 1892 National Historic Landmark CHATEAU-SUR-MER Created by Alva Vanderbilt and 1852 National Historic Landmark Richard Morris Hunt and inspired A product of the America- by the Petit Trianon at Versailles, China Trade and one of Marble House contains 500,000 America’s great Victorian cubic feet of marble. Intended as an houses, Chateau-sur-Mer ultimate statement of Gilded Age was home to three privilege, only a few years later it generations of the Wetmore hosted Alva’s “Votes for Women” family. You’ll see hand-carved rallies on the back lawn. Hear the Italian woodwork, Chinese words of Alva Vanderbilt, her porcelains, Egyptian and daughter Consuelo and many Japanese Revival stenciled Harold Stirling Vanderbilt more, brought to life in the wallpapers, and rare trees award-winning audio tour. from as far away as Mongolia. Don’t Miss the New Landscape Tour! Use your smart phone to explore the grounds. Included with your admission. “Be sure not to miss the smaller gems. If you’re interested in 18th century architecture & furniture this is the place to go! Compare its elegance to the later mansions. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit.” Trip Advisor Traveler Review KINGSCOTE 1841 National Historic Landmark New Tour! ISAAC BELL HOUSE 1883 National Historic Landmark Enjoy a new, immersive tour experience at Isaac Bell House, designed by architects McKim, Mead and White, who would later create Rosecliff. Throughout your tour, your guide will engage you in a discussion about the house’s unique details and concepts, inspired by a mix of international styles. The Isaac Bell House is one of the best examples of the Shingle Style, a distinctly American style which combined Built in 1841 for Georgia aspects of Colonial American and European architecture. plantation owner George Noble Jones and rebuilt for the King family in 1881, Kingscote still possesses original rooms from each era. Its furnishings reflect the King family’s success as China Trade merchants, with rare furniture, silver collections and Chinese Gwendolen King’s wedding, 1901 decorative arts. PERSONAL TOURS HUNTER HOUSE c. 1748 National Historic Landmark For the most memorable experience, schedule a personal tour through one or more houses of your choosing. Your small Pass through the front door of Hunter House and you step group of family, friends, colleagues or clients can have their back into Newport’s 18th-century Golden Age, the era own tour guide to lead them through each of the properties before the American Revolution. It was the home of a and answer their questions. merchant, ship owner and colonial deputy, and later became Personal Tour fees start at $405, include annual membership the Revolutionary War headquarters of the French Navy. and can accommodate a maximum 15 persons per tour. You’ll see up close a great collection of exquisite colonial To arrange a personal tour, call 401.847.1000 ext. 105. furniture, created by legendary Newport craftsmen like the Townsends and Goddards. New Tour! We enjoyed strolling through lush gardens of flowers, vegetables and whimsical topiaries of green animals and clever geometric shapes. Fun place for all family members regardless of age. Beautifully maintained grounds.” Trip Advisor Traveler Review GREEN ANIMALS Chateau-sur-Mer TOPIARY GARDEN c. 1860 Dozens of fanciful animals, a LANDSCAPE TOUR AT CHATEAU-SUR-MER sailing ship, teacups, spirals and Use your smart phone to explore the grounds of other geometric shapes sculpted Chateau-sur-Mer. Included with your admission. from living plants populate one of the oldest topiary gardens in • Tour the property at your own pace North America. The Brayton • Hear about the history, design and care of this family home is located on the Picturesque-style landscape grounds of Green Animals. A • See the Sod Maze, the only remaining installation self-guided tour of the house is from the 1974 art exhibition, Monumenta included with your admission. • Learn about the unique trees that make up the Newport Mansions Arboretum • See photos of the original greenhouses and gardens with A lion, a camel, a bear, oh my! specimens from as far away as Mongolia CHEPSTOW 1861 This charming Italianate-style cottage was designed by Newport architect George Champlin Mason. Today it reflects the mid-20th-century style of its last owner, Alletta Morris McBean, a descendant of Lewis Morris III, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.