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When we visited the Breakers on our third morning in Newport and bought our tickets for entry, we purchased the multi pack which allowed us to tour three of the Preservation Society’s properties.
So that afternoon we parked off Bellevue Avenue and walked to number two.
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Past ornate wrought iron gates….
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Past houses with extra large lawn ornaments….
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Along giant slabs of slate sidewalks…
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To our destination.
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Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 as a 39th birthday present for Alva Vanderbilt from her husband, William. At a total cost of $11 million, ($384 million today) it consists of 500,000 cubic ft. of marble that cost $7 million alone. Considered the most lavish house in America, this 50-room summer residence was still called a “cottage” in the Newport tradition.
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And yes, there was a whole lotta marble.
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On the floor, the walls and the ceiling.
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Gold?
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The dining room has that in spades. Even the chairs are covered in it.
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The library/morning room.
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Alva loved France, French art and French architecture.
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And because she acquired a collection of Medieval and Renaissance art she had a gothic room built to display them.
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As one does.
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It’s a charming little space.
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Understated and plain.
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Not!
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Heck, it even has a dragon.
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🐉 😊🐉
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River's world..... 
It’s a huge house for sure, and I’m sure the marble now would cost four times as much. But just like the breakers its very ornate and a bit much for my taste. Although the libraries would be somewhere I’d be perfectly happy in.
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It’s all too much, which I think was the point. I tend to walk around appreciating the craftsmanship that went into building it more than the crazy over the top decor.
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Such a cozy cottage – I can almost smell the hot chocolate and popcorn. Please tell me they allowed roller skating?
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On marble?
I’m guessing not.
🤣
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I do love me some stained glass, I must admit. Perhaps not those particularly…
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I don’t remember what I got for my 39th birthday, but I’m reasonably certain it was not a marble house.
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Me neither…
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All I keep thinking is, “Must be a nightmare to clean!”
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No doubt.
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I keep thinking how cold it must be in the Winter or the major Heating Bill.
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The families were only in residence for 6-8 weeks in the summer. No heating needed…
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That gothic fireplace is…something! Feel like it should be featured in a horror movie.
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Thirty-nine isn’t even a milestone birthday! I don’t remember what I was given for my 39th, but I’m pretty sure it was less impressive than this. On the one hand, you have to feel for the owners – the “keeping up with the Jones’s” pressure must have been unrelenting. On the other hand, I’ll bet there were people who hoped one of those heavy marble ceilings would come crashing down on their heads.
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These homes were basically built to say, “Look at how much money we have!” so it’s hard to work up a lot of empathy. But none of the families were able to keep them in the end and now we peasants are tromping through them… so that’s something.
😉
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Your recent posts are making me long to rewatch Downton Abbey.
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I saw the movie but somehow missed the series…
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‘‘Tis a wrong that must be righted!
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39 not a milestone?! Don’t tell that to Jack Benny! 39 was the last birthday he ever had. He stayed 39 for 41 years.
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😂
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Amazing!
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I have never seen such decadence in one house. It is a treasure of architecture but with a slant on the O.T.T.
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I think O.T.T. was the point.
😉
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Indeed
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