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Vancouver Sun
11-08-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Walk the scenes of ‘The Gilded Age' in Newport's preserved mansions
Visiting Newport, Rhode Island, can feel like stepping onto a film set because many scenes from HBO's hit show 'The Gilded Age' were filmed in the town's gigantic 19th-century mansions. Even beyond the shiny veneer of a TV, Newport is remarkably well preserved, a living monument to an era of extreme opulence and ambition. The town swung into social significance in the late 19th century, when America's wealthiest industrial families built extravagant summer homes – which they dubbed 'cottages' – by the sea. Families including the Vanderbilts and Astors transformed the town's landscape, commissioning architects such as Richard Morris Hunt and Stanford White to design sweeping, European-inspired estates replete with marble and crystal. Though the Gilded Age was relatively brief, its legacy endures through architecture in the town of Newport. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Guided experiences, such as those from Newport Jaguar Tours (US$406 for two on a three-hour tour) and the Preservation Society of Newport County's 'Inside the Gilded Age Tour,' ($250 per nonmember for a nearly four-hour tour; $200 for members) allow fans to explore the show's filming locations, but visitors can also stroll the Cliff Walk and tour the mansions on their own. Here's where to go, what to see and where to stay when you want to go a little deeper into the intriguing and decidedly gilded world of the Russells and the Van Rhijns. These enormous, extravagantly built and decorated homes are as large as they are impractical – and they're basically required viewing. Many of these mansions sit within walking distance (or a short drive) from one another on Bellevue Avenue and the surrounding streets, so you can wander down the water-facing street and stop at one wedding-cake-like estate after another. The majority of Newport's mansions are managed and maintained by the Preservation Society of Newport County and are $25 per person to visit. Fans of 'The Gilded Age' will recognize various rooms and vistas at the Breakers, the Elms, Rosecliff, Marble House and Chateau-sur-Mer, all of which were used in the show. The Breakers: Undoubtedly the grandest of the Newport mansions (and the town's most visited), the Breakers was built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II by Hunt. Styled after an Italian palazzo, the 70-room enormity was outfitted with electricity (still a novelty when the home was completed in 1895), 27 fireplaces, a hall with a 50-foot ceiling, mosaics hand-set by artisans brought over from Europe, and numerous Baccarat crystal pieces. The Breakers commands a higher ticket price at $32 per person, or for a $57 ticket that also allows access to two other mansions. Fans of the HBO show may recognize the mansion's space that stood in for George Russell's billiard room in New York. The Elms: Completed in 1901 for Edward Julius Berwind, a coal magnate, the Elms offers one of the most compelling tours in Newport, the belowstairs Servant Life Tour. The guided tour (roughly 75 minutes, $25) is a deep dive into the round-the-clock labor that kept these mansions and their occupants' busy social calendars functioning. The Elms's sprawling kitchens were used as the set of the Russells' kitchen in the HBO show. Rosecliff: Built in 1902 for Theresa Fair Oelrichs – a silver heiress and Gilded Age society hostess who threw legendary parties including with magician Harry Houdini as the guest of honour – the brick and white terra-cotta-tile-clad mansion was designed by White, one of the era's well-known architects. It was styled after the Grand Trianon of Versailles. The 1974 film version of 'The Great Gatsby' was filmed here. Other mansions: Don't limit yourself to just scene-touring. The Isaac Bell House is a relatively modest home compared to its marble neighbours. However, the 1883 home is one of the country's best surviving examples of shingle-style architecture. Rough Point, built in 1892 for Frederick William Vanderbilt, is best known as one of the residences of Doris Duke and is preserved as if the tobacco heiress just stepped out for a swim in the ocean. Founded in 1912, the Newport Art Museum holds a collection of over 3,000 works, with a hearty 19th-century collection. For the $15 entry fee, you can check out a retrospective of the work of a Gilded Age painter and longtime Newport resident whose family's summer 'cottage,' the Ledges, is not far away. 'Howard Gardiner Cushing: A Harmony of Line and Color,' on display through the end of the year, features many of the artist's works that have not been exhibited in over 50 years or have been in private collections. Cushing's legacy in Newport remains strong, and last year the artist's great-grandson Howard Cushing opened a new waterfront hotel in town, Gardiner House. Constructed on what was a parking lot, Cushing's 21-room boutique hotel draws its inspiration from the Ledges, which remains in the family as a private home. Newport's stunning Cliff Walk is a 3½ mile public path that winds its way between the Atlantic Ocean and the town's Gilded Age mansions. Fans of 'The Gilded Age' will recognize the walk as the location of one of Peggy and Dr. Kirkland's tête-à-tête. A stone staircase leading from the cliffs down to the ocean, known as the 40 Steps, was a popular Gilded Age gathering spot for servants working in the oceanfront mansions. Today the Cliff Walk is an entirely free way to experience Newport's dramatic coast and admire the architectural grandeur of the ocean-facing mansions. About a mile away, at the Newport International Tennis Hall of Fame, visitors can check out the grass courts from Season 2 of the HBO show. A few of Newport's mansions have been turned into hotels, allowing guests the opportunity to sleep within the town's gilded past. Castle Hill Inn, the onetime home of Alexander Agassiz, who made a fortune in copper mining, is now one of Newport's most sought-after hotels. Located about a 20-minute drive from some Bellevue Avenue mansions, the inn is on a sweeping parcel of 40 acres overlooking the sea. The sprawling lawn, dotted with Adirondack chairs, is something of an institution in the town, open for drinks to guests and nonguests alike. Overnight guests will find wood-paneled interiors and antiquities Agassiz collected on his scientific explorations in Asia. Closer to Newport's downtown is the Chanler at Cliff Walk. Built in 1873, the home was originally the summer estate of Rep. John Winthrop Chanler (D-New York) and was among the first of the summer cottages to be built atop Newport's cliffs. Today Chanler's home is a 20-room boutique hotel with a distinctly Gilded Age aesthetic.
Business Insider
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
11 historic mansions from HBO's 'The Gilded Age' that you can visit in real life
HBO's "The Gilded Age" films scenes in real historic mansions from the time period. Several mansions once owned by the Vanderbilt family in Newport, Rhode Island, appear in the show. Gilded Age mansions in Tarrytown and Sands Point, New York, also serve as film sets for the series. If you weren't an heiress, coal magnate, or railroad tycoon, you probably wouldn't have made the guest list at Gilded Age parties. Those gatherings were reserved for the wealthiest, most powerful members of society at the turn of the 20th century. However, visitors of all economic brackets can visit many of the historic opulent estates that serve as film sets for HBO's show " The Gilded Age." The show shoots at real mansions from the time period, many of which are now museums, to create authentic portrayals of the characters' exorbitant wealth. Season three of "The Gilded Age" premieres June 22 on HBO. Here are 11 Gilded Age mansions where the show filmed that offer tours of their magnificent properties. Rosecliff, a 30-room mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, was modeled after King Louis XIV's Grand Trianon palace in Versailles. Theresa "Tessie" Fair Oelrichs, whose family's silver fortune earned her the nickname "Bonanza Heiress," built Rosecliff in 1902 as her summer home. Admission to tours of the 28,800-square-foot property can be purchased through the Preservation Society of Newport County. Fans of "The Gilded Age" will recognize the ceiling of Rosecliff's ballroom from the show's opening credits. Rosecliff features the largest private ballroom in Newport, measuring 40 feet by 80 feet. Scenes from "The Great Gatsby," "27 Dresses," and "Amistad" have also been filmed there. One of the grandest Gilded Age mansions in Newport, the Breakers spans 138,300 square feet and belonged to one of the era's wealthiest families. Cornelius Vanderbilt II, heir to his grandfather's railroad fortune, built the Breakers as a summer home in 1895. The name "Breakers" comes from the sound of waves breaking against the shores of the Newport property. The Preservation Society of Newport County manages the mansion as a museum. Tours can be booked online. Several rooms in the Breakers were used as film sets for "The Gilded Age," including the music room and the billiard room. The billiard room features a wrought-iron and bronze lighting fixture so heavy that it had to be attached to the structural beams of the home. In a scene in "The Gilded Age," George Russell played a game of billiards in the room after a dinner party. The music room also served as a film set for "The Gilded Age," appearing as the Russells' ballroom where they hosted Gladys' debut ball at the end of season one. Marble House in Newport was a 39th birthday present from William K. Vanderbilt to his then-wife, Alva, in 1892. Marble House is named for the 500,000 cubic feet of marble featured throughout the home. When Alva Vanderbilt divorced her husband in 1895, she maintained ownership of Marble House and custody of their three children. She then married one of her neighbors, Oliver H.P. Belmont, in 1896, and became Alva Belmont. After his death, she leveraged her fortune to fund causes in the women's suffrage movement and hosted suffrage conventions at Marble House. The Preservation Society of Newport County operates tours of the property. In "The Gilded Age," scenes in George Russell's bedroom are filmed in the room that belonged to Alva and William's daughter, Consuelo Vanderbilt. Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport was originally built by merchant William Shepard Wetmore in 1852, then remodeled by his son in the 1870s. George Wetmore, who inherited the Italianate-style villa when his father died in 1862, served as the governor of Rhode Island and as a US senator representing the state. Tours of the home are available through the Preservation Society of Newport County. Rooms at Chateau-sur-Mer that appear in "The Gilded Age" include the stair hall and the dining room. Chateau-sur-Mer appears in the show as the home of Mamie Fish, who hosted a doll tea party in the first season. The stair hall is painted with the biblical Tree of Life, and the dining room walls are decorated with wallpaper made of Spanish leather covered in silver. Gilded Age coal magnate Edward Julius Berwind and his wife, Sarah Herminie Berwind, built The Elms in Newport in 1901. The Elms was modeled after the 18th-century French château, Château d'Asnières, and furnished with custom Louis XV-style furniture. The mansion sits on a 10-acre estate, where the Berwinds used to host lavish parties. The Preservation Society of Newport County operates tours of the lavish home. The show films in Sarah Herminie Berwind's bedroom and the mansion's main kitchen. Sarah Herminie Berwind's bedroom appears as Gladys Russell's room in "The Gilded Age," and the main kitchen serves as the Russell family's kitchen where servants gossip and prepare meals. Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York, was owned by three prominent Gilded Age families: the Pauldings, the Merritts, and the Goulds. Former New York City Mayor William Paulding and his wife, real-estate heiress Maria Rhinelander Paulding, built the mansion in 1842. Merchant George Merritt bought Lyndhurst Mansion in 1864 and built an addition onto the home, doubling its square footage to 14,000 square feet. Railroad tycoon Jay Gould then purchased it in 1880. In the world of "The Gilded Age," the mansion is home to the characters of Charles and Aurora Fane. "The Gilded Age" has filmed scenes in Lyndhurst Mansion's parlor, dining room, and art gallery. The show also uses the mansion's carriage house as the offices of The New York Globe newspaper and its 67-acre grounds as a stand-in for Central Park. The Hempstead House at Sands Point Preserve on Long Island was built in 1912 by financier Howard Gould. Howard Gould, son of the aforementioned Jay Gould, only lived at Hempstead House for a few years before selling it to Daniel and Florence Guggenheim in 1917. Daniel was the brother of Solomon Guggenheim, for whom the Manhattan museum is named, and Benjamin Guggenheim, who died on the Titanic. Hempstead House is located within Sands Point Preserve, which is open to the public and contains three mansions that can be toured. Tickets for a guided tour of Hempstead House can be purchased at the park's welcome center. You may recognize this room as George Russell's office. George Russell conducted many of his business dealings in this room at Hempstead House, now the home's library. "The Gilded Age" isn't the only project to have filmed here. You may also have seen Hempstead House in "Malcolm X," the 1998 adaptation of "Great Expectations," or "Scent of a Woman." Hunter House was originally built in 1748. Hunter House actually dates back to the colonial times, generations before the Gilded Age began. It even played a role in the Revolutionary War as the headquarters for the French fleet, per The Preservation Society of Newport County. Keeping Hunter House in good shape led to the creation of the Preservation Society in 1945, per the Society's website. There are guided tours held daily (excluding Sundays and Mondays) from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On the show, one of the sitting rooms is used as lawyer Tom Raikes' office. In the show, Raikes' office is in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It's one of the first non-New York City locations we see on the show. Belcourt was built in 1894 for the socialite Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont in Rhode Island. This 50,000-square-feet, 60-room summer home was modeled after King Louis XIII's hunting lodge at Versailles. The property was known for its extensive stables and carriage space, which makes sense: You may recognize his last name from the Belmont Stakes, the annual horse race in Elmont, New York, that was named for his father, August Belmont Sr. Belcourt is open for both guided tours during the day and candlelight walks and ghost tours in the evenings. The property doubles as the summer home of the Astors on "The Gilded Age." In a memorable moment in season one, Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) ends up sneaking around Belcourt (Beechwood, in the show) to avoid a run-in with Mrs. Astor. Westbrook, home of New York attorney and real-estate developer William Bayard Cutting, is located in Oakdale, New York. Westbrook was built in 1886 in the Tudor Revival style. Inside, there are 60 rooms (and 20 fireplaces). Westbrook's main draw, though, is its gardens. The house is now located inside the Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park, which is home to 691 acres of plants, trails, and more. There are separate guided tours of the arboretum and Westbrook available seasonally. There's also the Hidden Oak Café, which is located inside Westbrook and offers the option to take "Victorian Tea," complete sandwiches, scones, and tea. It was used during season one of the show. The Cuttings were part of the famed "Four Hundred" list, which was published by The New York Times in the 1890s. It named the 400 most socially acceptable people living in New York City. So, even though only their house has popped up on the show, the real Cutting family could too. The Glenview Mansion was built in the 1870s in Yonkers, a city in Westchester County, New York. It was built for the financier John Bond Trevor, who was partners with James Boorman Colgate (yes, of those Colgates). After the Trevors sold the home to the city of Yonkers, it became part of the Hudson River Museum, which is still open today. The interior of Glenview was used as the interior of Mrs. Astor's home.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Newport Mansions to offer free admission to locals for one weekend
NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) — The Preservation Society of Newport County is offering free admission to local residents at the Newport Mansions on March 8 and 9. Newport County residents, who live in Jamestown, Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton and Little Compton, will have the opportunity to see three national historic landmarks — The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House — free of charge. Personnel at Naval Station Newport, their immediate family, and Salve Regina University students are also eligible for free admission with proof of ID. Each mansion will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, with the last admission at 4 p.m. This offer excludes specialty tours Beneath The Breakers, The Elms Servant Life or The Breakers Third Floor Preservation in Progress. Newport residents receive free admission year-round with proof of residence. The Preservation Society of Newport County encourages visitors to download the free Newport Mansions audio tour app and bring headphones or earbuds. Children's audio tours are available at The Breakers and Marble House. Visit the Newport Mansions website for more information. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
