Gilded Age mansions of Newport and English Manorial style home designed for Frederick William Vanderbilt
General Information
Tuesday–Friday: 10am–4pm
Saturday–Sunday: 10am–5pm
Youth (ages 6–17): $5
Children 5 and under: Free
Leashed pets are permitted on the grounds during select outdoor programs
Service animals permitted
How to Get There
From Newport, RI: Travel south on Bellevue Avenue from downtown Newport; Rough Point is located at the southern end of Bellevue Avenue with Cliff Walk access along the adjacent coastline.
Overview
Rough Point is one of the Gilded Age mansions of Newport, now open to the public as a museum. It is an English Manorial style home designed by architectural firm Peabody & Stearns for Frederick William Vanderbilt. Construction on the red sandstone and granite began in 1887 and was completed 1892. It is located on Bellevue Avenue and borders the Cliff Walk and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. The original gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted's firm. The home's last owner was Doris Duke and it is currently owned and operated by the Newport Restoration Foundation.
Today
The property remained with Duke until her death in 1993. It was tied up in litigation for a few years and opened to the public as a museum in 2000. It is currently owned by the Newport Restoration Foundation. Tours occur from May until November. Since 2003, an exhibit has been in place, being either clothing, jewelry, silver, or furniture, changing each year.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rough Point", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
