Gilded Age mansion built as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family
General Information
Hours:
Daily: 9am to 5pm
Last admission at 4pm
Last admission at 4pm
Fees:
Adults: $29
Youth (ages 6–12): $10
Children 5 and under: Free
Youth (ages 6–12): $10
Children 5 and under: Free
Pet Policy:
Pets are not allowed
Closest cities with hotels:
Newport, RI
Seasons:
Best from May through October; reduced crowds in spring and fall
Location:
Website:
How to Get There
From Newport, RI: Take Memorial Boulevard or Bellevue Avenue south toward Ochre Point Avenue and follow signs for The Breakers; the mansion entrance is located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue.
Overview
The Breakers is Newport's grandest Gilded Age mansion, a 70-room Italian Renaissance palace built from 1893 to 1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, designed by Richard Morris Hunt. It is the most-visited attraction in Rhode Island, with about 450,000 visitors a year. The Preservation Society of Newport County has owned it since 1972. It is a National Historic Landmark (1994).
Highlights
- Great Hall: a 50-foot cube with limestone figure groups over the doors
- Dining room: 2,400 square feet with twelve rose alabaster columns
- Music room, library, and billiards room: Italian marble and rare woods, with gilt detail
- Bedrooms: Alice Vanderbilt's oval room and Gertrude's bedroom upstairs
- Grounds: a lawn overlooking the Atlantic and the Cliff Walk
- Servants' floors: staff quarters and innovative cisterns and a 1895 Otis elevator
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Breakers", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
