Leaving Boston we set out for the wide open plains of Rhode Island. Wait, Rhode Island is smaller than several counties in Texas, and is smaller than the city of Houston? Okay, well we set off for the beautiful green woods of Rhode Island looking to visit Newport, whose wealth came to define the affluence of the Gilded Age. Taking the train from Boston to Newport we arrived in Providence, the capitol of Rhode Island, in around two hours. If you're going to take this train ride, I would suggest getting on at the South Station, and not Back Bay. The Back Bay station is completely fine, but it's not actually an Amtrak station. It's an MTBA station, the state run railway, and Amtrak just stops off. Because of that there are no Amtrak people there to answer your questions, but there is help at South Station. Once you arrive in Providence, you will be in one of the smallest state capitols in the nation. Providence was impressively clean, had a very young vibe, and everyone was extremely welcoming. We spent a day wandering around there. With a little more than 180,000 people, it's small by major city standards, but like many northern cities, most of the people live close to the city center, so the city seemed dense.
To get to Newport from Providence you have several options. You can take a bus down there, which is apparently very cost effective, but pretty boring, or you can sit back on one of the ferries and take in the beauty of the Providence River and Narragansett Bay. We decided to take the
Seastreak Ferry, which took about 45 minutes to get to Newport. The dock in Newport is right beside the visitor center. When you go inside you can buy a daily bus pass. Well schooled in taking care of tourists, the city operates a tourist bus loop between historic sites. The pass was $10 per person, and ran on a 20 minute loop through town. You are looking for RIPTA Bus 67, but the visitor center employees will know what you are looking for. I'll tell you they are playing fast and loose with the 20 minute bus loop time, so don't set your watches by it, but I would say it made the loop every half hour.
Our first stop on this adventure was to visit one of the most famous homes in the nation, The Breakers. Built by the Gilded Age royalty of the Vanderbilts, the home was built in the 1890's by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the grandson of the famed "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt. The shore front mansion is one of the largest homes in the United States at over 125,000 square feet, and if you can believe it was only considered to be their summer "cottage." Inside you will find a home that is unquestionably meant to remind you of how much wealth the Vanderbilt family had, and here's a hint, it was a lot. The home was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, the world famous architect who also built the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, another Vanderbilt "cottage." The massive rooms inside the home are filled with European antiques, and in some cases, actual rooms from European palaces. Oh, your home doesn't have a 17th Century European tapestry hanging on the landing of your steps (or have a landing)? The tile work in your billiards room didn't come from a Roman temple (or have a billiards room)? There is even a running fountain underneath the staircase, because that's where everyone wants their expensive indoor water fountain to be, where no one will see it. The art and architecture of the home offended some people, but I can't imagine why. While this home was excessive, it was also inspiring. The Vanderbilt family also gave millions of dollars to charities and colleges around the nation, including the one that bares their name, Vanderbilt University. And should you forget whom it was that built this fortune, don't worry, there is either a painting or likeness of the Commodore in almost every room of the massive home.
From there we headed to the next Vanderbilt summer home, Marble House. If The Breakers offended your taste with its excess, then Marble House is definitely not for you, but if you loved the architecture of it and find the lifestyles these super wealthy led to be fascinating, then Marble House is going to be a can't miss for you. Marble House was built by William Vanderbilt, another grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the brother of Cornelius II of The Breakers. What family doesn't need 200,000 plus square feet of home within a mile of each other? Also designed by Richard Morris Hunt, Marble House is arguably the most expensive home ever built in the United States. Costing more than $11 million to construct in the 1890's, that would be over $300 million in 21st Century money. The massive home, as its name implies, it constructed almost completely from marble. Inside, the lady of the house, Alva Vanderbilt, outfitted the home with furnishings brought from palaces throughout France, where she had been raised. There is furniture within that was owned by the Sun King himself, Louis XIV. There are rooms that were brought over from Europe that were once in Gothic cathedrals, and even a ceiling painting in Mrs. Vanderbilt's bedroom that was removed from a library in Venice, Italy and reconstructed in Rhode Island. One of the more famous events that occurred in this home will make you Downtown Abbey fans want to visit. It was in this home that Alva Vanderbilt announced her daughter Consuelo would be marrying the 9th Duke of Marlborough, despite the fact Consuelo wanted nothing to do with the marriage. Behind the house you will see a Japanese style tea room that she had built to house events with her friends and locals. Alva Vanderbilt got to keep the home when she and William divorced, and she made good use of it when she remarried her next door neighbor and turned the Marble House into her closet, but a closet with a full staff.
From there you can go visit any of the other mansions that line the town's streets. There is The Elms, Chateau-sur-Mer, and many others. One organization,
The Preservation Society of Newport County, runs all of these homes now, and you can buy tickets at each place to visit. They sell tickets that will let you into one, two, or five of the homes in one day. Five would be almost impossible to do in one day, unless you didn't stop to enjoy the beauty of the homes. By the 1920's the age of opulence was coming to an end in Newport. The 16th Amendment, which allowed for income tax to be collected, drove many of these once wealthy families back down to Earth, or at least closer to the rest of the world. The cost of keeping up these homes became a burden, and many were given away. If anyone could benefit from taxes, it was Salve Regina University, located in the heart of Newport, whose campus is literally made up of old Gilded Age mansions donated to the college after their owners could no longer afford them. Take the famous
cliff walk along the coast of Newport and you will see many of the homes that are now used as dorms and classrooms. I wish I'd known about this school when I was in high school, but who am I kidding. The second the first snow came I would have packed up and headed back to where it's 50 degrees in the winter. When you are done for the day, go eat dinner at the
White Horse Tavern, another in the debated oldest restaurant in the United States contest. They make the unique claim of being the oldest tavern in the country, since 1673. The building is original, and is filled on the inside with paintings that are centuries old. We had a wonderful meal there. Then spend some time in the downtown area. Besides being full of wonderful shops, Newport is also home to arguably the oldest baseball field in the United States. While you are walking around, look for the U.S. Naval Academy. The Naval Academy relocated to Rhode Island during the Civil War, I assume fearing that slave state Maryland would defect to the Confederacy. That has to be a trivia question you can stump someone with sometime. We had a wonderful day imagining ourselves living in these homes, and look forward to coming back again soon.
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