Summer may be over, but it’s a great time to enjoy the less-crowded roads and spaces of Newport, Rhode Island, for tours of this elegant seaside city’s collection of restored Gilded Age mansions. The fabulous homes were built as summer “cottages” for the rich and powerful, and survive thanks to the work of the Preservation Society of Newport County.
Most of the famous houses are located on or near Bellevue Avenue, with wide lawns and terraced gardens that slope down to the sea. What many visitors to Newport’s more highly recognizable houses don’t know is a shocking number of other fabulous mansions were completely demolished from the 1930s through the 1960s.
Some, such as the beautiful Stone Villa — a stunning Italianate manor house built from fieldstone trimmed in granite — were replaced with shopping centers and parking lots. Others, including the sprawling Harper-Field Warren Estate, called Seafield, and the timber-framed estate known as Seaverge, disappeared from history to become subdivisions or were replaced with modern homes.
Happily, you can still visit a collection of beautifully preserved mansions that include The Breakers, The Elms, Marble House, Rosecliff, Chateau sur Mer, Isaac Bell House, Kingscote, Chepstow, Hunter House and Green Animals Topiary Garden. While seasonal closures begin at some houses Oct. 15, there’s still a chance to enjoy a docent-led tour or a self-guided audio tour.
Plan for a holiday season visit, when events include an exploration of Shirley Jackson’s seminal horror story originally published in 1959, The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Classic, 2006). Part of the Books@Bell series, the talk takes place Oct. 19 and will be led by Dr. Renee Somers, assistant professor of English, Bridgewater State University.
The Cliff Walk, Cliffside Mansions of Newport Rhode Island. Photo: Joe Sohm | Dreamstime.com
On Oct. 24, an evening lecture led by author and journalist Julie Satow will delve into the fascinating history of New York City’s Plaza Hotel. “The Plaza: The Secret Life of America’s Most Famous Hotel” will be hosted at Rosecliff, and will address the myriad stories of scandal, tragedy and fabulous wealth associated with the Plaza.
Pumpkin Decorating at Green Animals will take place Oct. 26 in the Topiary Garden. The event is planned 10 a.m. to noon, and includes a garden walk to collect decorating materials from the expansive grounds.
A lecture covering “Food in the American Gilded Age” will be offered at Rosecliff on Nov. 7, led by Helen Zoe Veit, associate professor of history, Michigan State University. Dr. Veit will discuss the diet disparities between classes via period cookbooks, dietary studies and advice manuals from post-Civil War America.
Learn all you ever wanted to know about the glass windows and lampshades created by Tiffany Studios Dec. 8 at Rosecliff during “Tiffany Glass: Painting with Color and Light” Exhibition Opening Lecture and Reception.
A festive Holiday Dinner Dance at The Breakers, Dec. 21 includes a cocktail hour on the loggia, an elegant three-course seated dinner in the mansion’s Great Hall, and dancing in the opulent Music Room. The event is black tie, and reservations are required.
Read This Next
Plan Now to View the 2024 Eclipse
Destinations / North America
Jun 2, 2023#WhereverFamily
Insta FeedMultigenerational
Apr 28, 2023“Jay’s Horrible Day”: A Children’s Book Based on a True Story and Tackling Big Issues
As family travelers bring their families to various destinations around the globe, diversity, tolerance, empathy and compassion are incredibly important issues to help children comprehend. The children’s book Jay’s Horrible Day, by Stacey B. Shapiro, MSW, MLC, is part of the Big Issues for Little Children Series and “based on a true story about racism and discrimination.” It’s not always easy to handle issues as big as racism with children, but this book does so in an easily digestible manner.
Sponsored Content
United Airlines Celebrates its First Class of United Aviate Graduates
As the only major U.S. airline to own a flight school, United Airlines already hit a major milestone, and now the carrier celebrates another important — and historic — step as the inaugural class of United Aviate Academy pilots graduates, leading the next generation of aviators. The 51 students in the graduating class were majority, at 80 percent, women and people of color — another stride toward United’s goal of training 5,000 new pilots by 2030 with half women or POC.
Age Specific / Multigenerational
Apr 27, 2023Experience History, Language and Culture Firsthand Through Educational Travel
There are many forms of education. There are many forms of travel. When education and travel combine, the results can prove surprising, challenging and inspiring.
Travel Tips
Apr 27, 2023Engaging Kids in Travel
The best way to keep kids engaged and interested on family travel is to make them part of the planning and travel process. You can be pretty sure of keeping a kid’s interest if the attraction or place you’re visiting is one they’ve chosen themselves.
Age Specific / Multigenerational
Apr 25, 2023Family-Friendly Podcasts Keep Kids Entertained While Traveling
When it comes to traveling with kids, there are seemingly endless options to keep them entertained on the journey, including downloading videos to watch and playing on hand-held game consoles. Classic road trip games like the alphabet game and license plate game still offer fun and can easily pass hours in the car.
Age Specific / Multigenerational
Apr 21, 2023Resident Mascots Enjoy Rock-Star Status at Pet-Friendly Hotels
As we pulled away from The Kentucky Castle’s gates, I could sense right away it wouldn’t be the impressive castle towers, the incredible farm-to-table meals, or even the lush bedding we slept in that my son would remember from our time in Versailles, Kentucky. It was our first vacation as a family of four, and as my 3-year-old son began introducing his 3-month-old baby sister to his new favorite toy — a plush replica of the castle hotel’s miniature highland steer — I knew it would be the time he spent petting and playing with Tucker, The Kentucky Castle’s mascot, that would forever be the highlight of his time in Kentucky.
ShareThis