His Madness and I recently got back from visiting our son Andy and his wife Kristin. Unfortunately, I picked up a very nasty bug (probably covid, since it lasted so long) on the way home and haven't been able to keep up the daily antics of The Skeleton Crew this October. Hopefully, they will be back soon before spooky season is over. Until then, here are some photos of an afternoon spent by some foolish mortals at The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island.
Since they live in the Boston area, we drove to Newport, Rhode Island to visit The Breakers one afternoon. It is the largest and most grand of the summer "cottages" where HBO's "The Gilded Age" was filmed. I haven't actually seen the series but now I'm curious. Here's HM and Andy, stoically facing the prospect of having to look at many fancy rooms covered with lots of marble. Kristin is a teacher, so she was at school.
The guide book states that it is an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo built as a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America. I think they made their point. This is the Great Hall, it's the largest of the seventy rooms and essentially a fifty-foot square, marble-clad cube. This one room alone, is twenty-five percent larger than the average family home in Rhode Island.
Obviously, these people weren't into minimalism.
To describe this place as opulent seems like an understatement.
Looking directly across the Great Hall, into the loggia, from the second floor. It appeared to be a very popular spot.
Until we showed up and then somehow the whole place was empty, ha!
What a view, though.
Lots of sparkling chandeliers. Wonder how long it takes to clean them?
The dining room, with a table that opens up to seat thirty-four guests.
I wonder if the Vanderbilt's considered it rude if their guests spent more time staring at the ceiling instead of engaging in polite dinner conversation?
Unfortunately, the giant fireplaces were all roped off so I couldn't get a photo of HM and Andy standing inside them. You can take a virtual tour of the whole residence here.
"Below Stairs" (aka. the basement), there was an equally large kitchen which was necessary to feed all those dinner guests who weren't staring at the ceiling. It's in a separate wing of the mansion, a precaution that was not unusual at the time, since the original Breakers was destroyed in a fire.
I suppose all these kinds of mansions have really bougie Butler's Pantries and they're just not open to the public, but this was the first one I've ever seen with a mezzanine. It was accessible from the kitchen on the lower level and the upper area opened onto the floor near the dining room.
Exiting through the Gift Shop was an opulent experience, too. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that it would occupy several rooms and they would have entire sets of china for sale.
Gertrude Whitney was the fourth child of the seven Vanderbilt children. She became a noted sculptor and the founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Two of her bronze relief sculptures, "Blinded" and "America at War" were recently installed in the area near the exit of the tour. In 1914 she established a hospital for wounded soldiers outside Paris which made her one of only a few American sculptors to experienced of the horrors of World War I firsthand.
The gardens surrounding the mansions are nice but the view of the ocean is the star of the show. Somehow we always miss out on the fall foliage in New England but there were a few colorful trees here and there.
The Cliff Walk National Recreation Trail runs along the shoreline in front of The Breakers from Easton's Beach to Bailey's Beach for three and a half miles. Unlike the mansion, it is free.
It was a beautiful day so we explored about half a mile of the trail. There are parts that are wheelchair friendly and some that are closed for repairs but we were on a less accessible part of the path and even that was an easy walk. It was a fun and entertaining little day trip.
Thanks for stopping by, The Skeleton Crew will be back soon for some silly spookiness.
We are keeping our friends, family and all of those affected by Helene and Milton in our thoughts.
Hope everyone made it through the storms safely.
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