If you only have time to visit one Newport mansion my pick would be The Breakers. Cornelius Vanderbilt II was a famous railroad mogul who was the chairman of the New York Central Railroad system and was part of the wealthiest family in America at the time.
The Breakers is the first Newport mansion I saw on my trip. If you don’t want to rush your visit I would recommend you plan two hours for visiting the mansion. There is so much to see both inside and outside. I visited The Breakers in the summer time. But, would like to visit in the winter time when it is decorated for the holidays.
The History of The Breakers
The Vanderbilts wanted to build a summer cottage to spend their summer social seasons away from the hustle and bustle of New York. I can’t imagine spending millions of dollars on building a mansion that you only spend the summers in every year.
Cornelius Vanderbilt commissioned the architect Richard Morris Hunt to build his mansion. Construction on the mansion began in 1893 and was completed in 1895.
Jules Allard and Sons worked on the interior decorations; they worked on many of the mansions in Newport.
Vanderbilt wanted to make his own Italian Renaissance Palazzo. They used stone and brick to build the mansion. And, they used steel beams for structural support.
The interiors of The Breakers were crafted with marble, bronze, and gilded wood. There is fantastic detailed worked throughout each room, and corner. There is so much craftsmanship from the ceilings to the floors. My favorite rooms were the rooms that belonged to the women in the Vanderbilt family and the kitchens.
There are over 70 rooms in The Breakers . On the tour visitors get to see most of the main rooms the family lived in while they were alive.
The Vanderbilts youngest daughter Gladys Vanderbilt( later when married known as Countess László Széchenyi) leased The Breakers to the Preservation Society of Newport County. And, when Gladys died her descendants sold it to the Preservation Society in 1972.
Some descendants of the Vanderbilts still spend their summer holidays at The Breakers on the top floors of The Breakers that are not open to the public.
