With its mild climate and desirable island location, Newport, founded in the 17th century as a home for free-thinking dissidents, grew from a small colony that welcomed merchants of all beliefs into the “Queen of American Resorts” during the Gilded Age, to one of the most exciting eras of Newport’s history.
Yachtsmen and lovers of maritime history have come to this Rhode Island gem as well, and today, Newport’s numerous mansions, boutiques, restaurants and hotels draw tourists from all over the world.
Colonial Newport
The shops and restaurants of Bannister’s Wharf
It’s a good idea to get an overview when you arrive in this city-by-the-sea by taking the informative 90-minute guided sightseeing tour. It begins at the Visitors Center on America’s Cup Avenue. The bright green and red trolley starts out by taking in downtown’s wharf area, where shops and restaurants line cobblestone streets.
During the tour, our trolley guide, Dan, pointed out several of Newport’s best restaurants. “For seafood, don’t miss Flo’s Clam Shack”, he said, “and the Black Pearl at Bannister’s Wharf has great chowder.” He also suggested dining at the Red Parrot Restaurant, originally a meat-packing house built in 1898, if for no other reason then to check out their 22-page menu. “It’s so big,” he said, “it’s delivered in a binder.” I did, later that day; their crab cakes are delicious.
There are still 350 colonial homes in Newport, the country’s largest collection. They can be seen in Newport’s Old Quarter, where stately trees line narrow streets.
Here, too, you’ll find the country’s oldest lending library, the Redwood Library and Athenæum, as well as the White Horse Tavern, built in about 1673, one of America’s oldest taverns still in operation. Colonists, British soldiers, sailors, pirates and even this country’s founding fathers have all passed through its doors.
The Redwood Library and Athenaeum
The Gilded Age
By the time the trolley reaches Newport’s Ocean Drive, you’ve time-traveled through a few centuries. The tour winds along this stunning 10-mile stretch of road edging the city’s cliff and ocean sides, then down shady Bellevue Avenue, home of many of the city’s elegant mansions.
The Gilded Age, a term coined by author Mark Twain for this period of conspicuous consumption, took place from about the 1870s until the turn of the twentieth century. During this time, Newport became the summer playground of America’s wealthiest and most influential families — many with names like Astor and Vanderbilt — who employed leading American architects to build these opulent mansions that they called summer “cottages.”
“An exorbitant amount of money was needed to spend the summer season in Newport,” Dan told us. “At that time it cost approximately $70,000 to host an average party. Mrs. Astor, who owned Beechwood, set aside $10,000 for gown alteration alone. Two-hundred and eighty outfits were needed for a summer season, ninety percent of which would only be worn once.”
It was a good time to be a Butler or other member of the “downstairs” staff, who made enough money during the summer season to live throughout the year.
Thanks to the Preservation Society of Newport County, visitors can tour many of these properties to get a glimpse of the lavish lifestyle of the Newport elite, as well as the daily life of their servants.
The Breakers
Beautiful Cliff Walk
To reach The Breakers you can walk along Newport’s breathtaking Cliff Walk, a 3.5-mile pathway winding along the town’s Atlantic coastline. It offers jaw-dropping views of crashing surf on the ocean side and the Gilded Age mansions on the other.
The Breakers, the most magnificent of these houses, was the palatial summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, built in 1895 with the Vanderbilts’ steamship and Central Railroad fortune.
The Breakers
Designated as a National Historic Landmark, this 70-room summer house was built on Ochre Point, a half-mile from Bellevue Avenue, and designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt. Hunt, inspired by the 16th century palaces of Turin and Genoa, had an international team of artisans ornament the house with rare marble, alabaster, and gilded woods in the style of an Italian Renaissance palazzo.
Vanderbilt, although a modest man of simple tastes, had to maintain a position of supremacy as patriarch of America’s wealthiest family. Therefore The Breakers had to reflect sumptuousness and have enough space to entertain “The 400″, an elite group of families who possessed more than 80% of America’s wealth during the late Victorian period.
Hunt designed the house with grand-scale reception rooms, a roofed courtyard known as the Great Hall, a spacious music room with a gilt coffered ceiling lined with silver and gold, and a two-story seaward-facing arched loggia. There are also greenhouses and gardens that still provide cut plants for the Preservation Society’s houses.
Unfortunately, Hunt died while supervising the completion of The Breakers in July 1895, and Vanderbilt only spent one summer there before a massive stroke confined him to a wheelchair. But as Newport’s most frequently visited mansion, The Breakers has drawn millions of visitors to learn what life was like during this multifaceted period of history.
Marble House
Marble House
As befits its name, Marble House, created by Alva Vanderbilt and Richard Morris Hunt, contains 500,000 cubic feet of marble. This dazzling, Beaux Arts home, set between Bellevue Avenue and the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, was built for William Kissam Vanderbilt (the younger brother of Cornelius Vanderbilt II). He wanted the best house that money could buy. Only a few years later it became the setting for his wife Alva’s “Votes for Women” rallies on the lawn.
Although the Vanderbilts only stayed at Marble House six or seven weeks a year, it was large enough that the regular staff in high season included thirty-six, with additional staff brought on during balls and large dinner parties.
Many of the rooms in the house seem to be from different time periods. The dining room, for example, complete with hunting and fishing motifs, was inspired by the Salon of Hercules at Versailles. Walk from there into the Gothic Room, though, and you’ll feel as if you’ve stepped back into the medieval period. The hallways are lined with walls of warm, cream-colored Italian marble.
On the expansive lawn out back near the edge of the cliffs, you’ll see a remarkable Chinese Tea House, which was the center of a lavish Chinese costume ball held in July of 1914.
The Chinese Teahouse at Marble House
Marble House is striking, but for something a little more subdued, head to The Elms, also on Bellevue Avenue.
The Elms
The Elms
If you’re a Downton Abbey fan you’ll love The Elms, which, in addition to the regular self-guided audio tour, offers a brand new “Servant Life” tour with details derived from recent research on life behind-the-scenes in the mansions of Newport.
Built in 1901, The Elms was modeled after the eighteenth century French château d’Asnières near Paris, and was the summer residence of coal magnate Edward Julius Berwind and his wife Sarah Vesta Herminie. Although opulent, it is more subdued than the other “cottages” I visited, and has a bright, cheerful conservatory with a floor of cool white marble created to display plants and flowers.
It’s easy to visualize what life was like at The Elms during the summer months, when the second floor would buzz with a flurry of activity as family and servants got ready for that evening’s entertainment downstairs.
This estate’s recently restored Classical Revival gardens are spectacular, with terraces that feature marble and bronze sculpture, a tree-filled park and a lower garden complete with marble pavilions and fountains.
Rosecliff
Rosecliff
Rosecliff, another grand estate, has a self-guided audio tour that brings to life the human side of one of Newport’s great party houses. This estate belonged to Theresa Fair Oelrichs, who created the house as a showcase for extravagant summer parties and entertainment.
Modeled after the Grand Trianon, a garden retreat built for Louis XIV, Rosecliff has such a beautiful ballroom it was chosen as the setting for the tango scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tia Carrere in 1994′s movie True Lies, as well as the extravagant party scenes in 1974′s The Great Gatsby starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.
Newport’s Maritime Heritage
Newport Harbor
Today Newport is still a haven for the wealthy, whose private estates line Ocean Drive and whose yachts fill the harbor. The best way to connect with Newport’s rich maritime past, though, is to get out on the water.
At the inlet between Bowen’s and Bannister’s Wharf you can board the speedy Motor Yacht Rum Runner II, built in 1929 by two New Jersey mobsters to smuggle “hooch” during the height of Prohibition. Or set sail on the Madeleine, a 72-foot schooner classic sailing yacht, for a relaxing tour of the harbor. Or you can even sail aboard a former America’s Cup yacht.
If you don’t have a yacht to sleep on, choose a harbor view room at the Newport Marriott. History lovers would enjoy the historic Hotel Viking, Newport’s first hotel, whose notable guests include Will Rogers, Ella Fitzgerald, John and Jackie Kennedy. Newport also has a selection of historic inns — the Five Star Diamond award-winning Francis Malbone House is one of the top rated inns in the country.
Don’t miss Newport’s local eateries, such as Expresso Yourself Café on Thames Street, where owner Pat Roeb bakes everything on-site, including to-die-for pistachio muffins. And at La Maison de COCO (opposite the Hotel Viking on Bellevue Avenue), owner Michele De Luca-Verley specializes in tea-infused truffles. She also serves delectable crepes, such as a Chocolate Ganache Crêpe created with dark chocolate, plum, and oolong — heaven for chocolate lovers.
All it takes is one visit to the City-by-the-Sea to realize that The 400 had it right. Newport’s rich setting is the place to be — even if your last name isn’t Vanderbilt.
Photos courtesy of Discover Newport
-Melody Moser
Newport, Rhode Island: Queen of American Resorts by Melody Moser from Viator Travel Blog