#gilded age mansions

[hometoursandotherstuff]

If I was filthy rich...I'd buy this gilded age, limestone, Beaux Arts 1910 mansion on the Upper East Side of New York City. I posted it once before, so I guess it's hard to sell a home that's this expensive, (one of the hazards of being too rich, I guess). 7bds, 12ba, 18,000 sq ft, $54.5m. Open the gilded front door and step inside.

Love the rounded walls in the foyer. What is the stuff they have on the walls? I would have to take that down- it looks like some kind of carpeting.

But look at the magnificent marble stairs. I wonder what that is on the side- maybe it was a fountain or something at one time.

Carved marble and sculpted newel post.

Isn't that a lovely staircase? This home is 8 floors! 6 are above ground.

Details of the railing.

The sitting room is nice and light.

Look at the details!

This home is a work of art.

I would glide thru these room in a freakin' ball gown.

You can tell that this was all hand-sculpted.

I don't even know what level we're on.

The walls in this room have black & gold marble wainscoting and the wood panels have intricately carved crown molding.

I can see why this home is so expensive.

The artistic detail is crazy.

So beautiful.

This is all they show of it. And, the description says that the sale has to be approved by the court, so it must be an estate sale or something.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/15-E-63rd-St-New-York-NY-10065/344214383_zpid/?

[whosaidishouldwritethis]

Learning about Gilded Age mansions as a European is staggering because of the mishmashing of styles in one home, a white marble castle exterior in Rhineland style, mushroom vault with Louis XV parlour, a colonial dining room and an 'Asian Inspired' library...😬 oooh I mean, go off Charles V Paterno, it's your house so go nuts but I'm imagining European society, teacup in hand, saying "My, how gauche"

The epitome of class and sophistication that NY elite were not and yet, they were presented as such.

This sounds snobby, I'm not. I abhor that sort of stuff, if you're rich and want to make your house into the set of Peewees Playhouse then do and invite me over. If I had money, I'd turn my house into a replica of the Addams Mansion in a heartbeat but what does interest me is how people of the 'upper' social class in the US at the time took elements of European nobility and brute forced the differing elements together and demanded that it be seen as classy despite deciding they wanted 4 different times and eras AND PEOPLE WENT ALONG WITH THAT 😂

[the-posh-life]

Mansions in Newport

[hsmagazine254]

The Magnolia Palace: A Literary Gem Unearthed by Fiona Davis

H&S Magazine’s Recommended Book Of The Week The Magnolia Palace: A Literary Gem Unearthed by Fiona Davis Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Literary Fiction Exploring the Gilded Age’s Secrets: An Introduction to ‘The Magnolia Palace’ In the realm of historical fiction, a select few authors possess the extraordinary ability to transport readers through time and space, immersing them in bygone…

[lionofchaeronea]

The Fletcher Mansion, New York City, Jean-François Raffaëlli, 1899

[wandering-jana]

Rosecliff, one of the many Gilded Age Mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, on a foggy day.

June 2014

[djkerr]

Marian Brook and Aurora Fane in Newport, RI. BTS filming The Gilded Age season 3.

📷🎥 @louisa_jacobson via IG stories

(November 24, 2024)

[reedilla]

"But oh, it was clear why it was called the Sky Room. The walls and ceilings were painted in a blushing pink in one corner, a deep blue in the other, and between them the colors commingled and brightened into clouds, stars, whirls of night wind"

Grayson Daly, The Untimely Undeath of Imogen Madrigal

Marble House, Newport, RI

[faithandarisadventures]

The Library February 17, 2024 The Breakers Newport, Rhode Island

[marzipanandminutiae]

I love your poll about the house museums, i have been to many because it was an interest of my mother's growing up. I wanted to share about tour-able mansions in Rhode Island, USA. They are full of history and feel incredibly haunted.

Oh, in Newport? Yeah, those are really cool!

They were summer homes for the hyper-wealthy of (mostly) New York City, and really functioned more as event venues than family houses. The scale and grandeur of most of them boggles the mind:

(The Breakers, built in 1893-95 for the Vanderbilt family. This is the grandest of them all, but the one I've visited- Rosecliff -wasn't far behind.)

One of my friends used to work at the mansions- one organization runs all of them, as museums -and she says some are haunted. I'm not going to tell you which ones, though; that seems like it would spoil the fun.

Happy touring!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Found this listing in my dream town of Tuxedo, New York. It’s a 1901 Gilded Age estate called Sky Top. It has 5bd., 4.5ba. and is listed for $3.5M.

Very nice stairs off to the side of the entrance hall.

It has a lovely spacious sitting room that’s the size of several sitting rooms. And, it has large stone fireplace.

The sitting room is a dining room with lovely glass doors to the terrace.

The rooms in this home are all huge. Look at the size of the kitchen. Love the pale green cabinets and matching fireplace.

On the 2nd fl. is a spacious sitting room that also has a corner office area.

The large main bd. This would be a great house for a maximalist, b/c you can fit a lot furniture in here.

Nice children’s room is large, but cozy.

This lovely room has another big room right thru the door. This would make a great suite.

The bats are spacious and plain.

This sunroom is made for entertaining. 

You can really pack in the bottles in this wine room.

Lovely terrace with a pergola. Looks like it’s also a grape vine.

The 2.6 acres of land are so beautiful and parklike. Look at the natural structure. 

Love the house, but I’m not too keen on the interior. You can see how beautiful Tuxedo is, though. 

And, this view is why the home is named Sky Top.

https://www.priceypads.com/skytop-1901-gilded-age-estate-asks-3-5m-in-tuxedo-park-ny/

[jomiddlemarch]

Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense

“I’m worried about Matthew,” Mary said, having set down the coffee-pot, every Wedgewood cup filled. The meal might have ended with port or brandy for the men in a household aspiring to be fashionable, but to Jed’s eternal amusement, Mary held fast to her New Hampshirewoman’s disapproval of anything she thought was more for show than purpose and though she was not deeply involved with the temperance movement, she saw limited appeal in spirits, which unlike coffee or even tea, never enlivened the enervated nor hastened industry. Jed spent a good deal of his time trying to impress upon her the value of leisure, but admitted it was a Sisyphean task. She applied her considerable efforts, fussing he called it, to the well-being of those she called friends, so he could not be surprised at her declaration.

“I’m sure you needn’t,” Emma said. This only caused Mary to purse her lips in a manner Jed found adorably kissable, but which indicated she felt Emma was not taking seriously what she deemed a serious matter indeed.

“Why are you worried?” Henry asked. “He’s not written often since he went to New York. At least not to me. Perhaps you’ve heard more from him?”

“If she hasn’t, it’s not for lack of trying,” Jed remarked. “At this rate, we may send Daniel out West to earn his Harvard tuition as his mother’s spent it on postage—”

“It won’t work, Jed, Emma and Henry already know you for a fabulist. You ought to confine your exaggeration to your waistcoats,” Mary replied, sounding very much as she had when they’d first met in Alexandria, all asperity and wit. She turned to face Henry, whose earnestness still matched her own. “It’s not so much what he says as what he omits and there are times I almost feel he’s written me a sermon instead of a letter to a friend.”

“I thought it would be easy enough for him, in New York. They’re not known for their propriety as Boston is,” Emma said. She had found it more difficult than she expected to gain acceptance, even as Mrs. Reverend Hopkins, her soft drawl a lesser issue than the myriad small faux pas she made, which she discovered only through a raised eyebrow or a short, barely audible sniff. When Mary’s efforts at consolation had proven ineffective, she’d brought Emma to Margaret Brook and then to the Bhaers’ exercise in utopia. She’d left with a hand-printed program of ���The Pirate’s Fearsome Revenge and Also, His Parrot Makes a Freind” as a talisman against disappointment. “No Lowells, no Cabots, it might as well be a children’s garden party at Plumfield.”

“Evidently the von Rhijns and the Astors would make the Cabots and Lowells quail,” Mary said. “There’s a brazenness in New York society that’s frowned upon in Boston and Matthew mentioned that some of the newer families, the Russells in particular, are rather given to excess, even though that is reflected in their charitable giving as well as their millinery.”

“You are concerned Matthew will be caught up in the battles between old and new money?” Henry asked. “That he may be diverted from his ministry and his neediest parishioners?”

“The man survived five holiday bazaars, including the one the former Miss Hastings attended,” Jed said. “Have some faith—”

“He was at home then,” Mary said. “He knew the players and he knew who he might call upon as allies, should he need them.”

“You make it all sound quite cut-throat,” Jed said. “Not that I don’t think Anne brought a Bowie knife to that sewing bee you hosted. I expect she spiked the punch from her trusty flask as well.”

“No one serves punch at a sewing bee,” Emma said.

“I’m afraid Matthew’s affections are becoming improperly engaged,” Mary interrupted. Henry frowned but Jed let out a low whistle, one his sons had all learned to replicate. He was teaching the girls in secret.

“Improperly engaged! Given the source of such an assessment, I can only assume our esteemed Reverend Forte is enamored of a circus performer or perhaps his inamorata is a lady aeronaut,” Jed said, making little effort to restrain himself. He was, after all, among friends.

“Do be serious,” Emma said, an exhortation Mary knew better than to ever bother with. Henry, uxuoriousness undimmed by nearly twenty years of marriage, patted his wife’s hand. Mary rolled her eyes, but Jed could tell she was equally amused by his playfulness and Emma’s exasperation. There was little latitude granted to a minister’s wife in Massachusetts and Emma’s thirsts for gossip and the latest fashion were generally unquenched. 

“Not a widow of means, then?” Henry said.

“He writes almost effusively about a Miss Brook and no, Jedediah, there is little chance she’s any relation to Mrs. John Brook, the surname is common enough,” Mary said.

“What makes an engagement an improper one then, Molly?” Jed asked.

“As her title suggests, she is unmarried, but not fresh from the schoolroom. She is a lady of some years—”

“An elderly spinster,” Jed remarked. “Probably poor as a church mouse, though I’d defer to Henry to explain why all the mice who make churches their residence are doomed to being impoverished. Not much opportunity for cheese, I suppose��"

“Hush!” Mary exclaimed. “She is of middle years and unmarried but what makes the engagement risky—”

“Not risqué,” Jed muttered under his breath, low enough Henry could claim he hadn’t heard but loud enough he’d grinned.

“Is her connection to the van Rhijn family,” Mary went on.

“Is she a second cousin? A cadet branch? A companion?” Emma asked, speaking the word companion as she might say harlot.

“She is Mrs. van Rhijn’s only sister,” Mary said. “He was invited to luncheon at the van Rhijn house. They had New England clam chowder. Miss Brook admitted amidst the guests that she’d had it specially prepared to remind him of home.”

Emma looked aghast.

Henry looked as surprised as he had when his eldest daughter Lydia had announced her intention of studying Ancient Greek at Wellesley College the day after the school’s charter was announced. She had been five at the time and was already halfway through Cicero.

Mary looked concerned and also divinely self-satisfied, largely due to the expressions on the faces of both Hopkins and the near-absolute silence that had descended on the sitting room. Jed could only barely make out the sound of the boys arguing, Rebecca wheedling cakes from Mrs. Hudson for Beatrice and the Hopkins girls. They were dear to him, these three, and though he could not share in the apprehension over Matthew Forte’s affections and reputation, he was fond of the minister in his own way.

“As it’s evident the three of you believe Reverend Forte shortly to be torn limb from limb, either figuratively or literally, with the likelihood of a new iteration of New England chowder featuring a man of God, his frock coat, and quantity of diced potatoes doused in cream soon to be presented at the van Rhijn table, I would suggest a course of action,” Jed said, allowing himself to wax, if not rhapsodic, then comedically melodramatic. Mary might take him to task later, but they were all so earnest and Emma, in particular, needed to be reminded there was life outside the parlor and parish hall, life she had once lived, most threatening with her swinging hoopskirt. It was always fraught, to refer to the War, each of them carrying their own burdens, each of them managing in the best way they knew how, but they had once attended or performed in the dramas of the Mansion House Players and given the clear desire to make a tragedy out of a few lines in Matthew’s letter, their previous experience would be well to be evoked.

“Well, out with it,” Mary said. “You’re overdoing the dramatic pause, Jedediah. If Timothy and John were with us, you wouldn’t escape so lightly—”

He nodded. The two younger boys had his same taste for mockery and were only slightly reined in by Daniel’s steadiness, so like his mother’s, and Bea’s innocence. Rebecca would only egg them on. Mary could quell them all with a glance but only if she chose. 

“Matthew needs an ally. Reinforcements. The introduction of an unexpected character from the wings, kitted out with a shield and sword. And flask,” Jed said. Henry and Emma still had blank expressions but a light came into Mary’s dark eyes as he spoke and he loved her for it. “Mrs. Frederick Morris—”

“Nurse Hastings?” 

“Anne?”

“I may quibble with your approach, but I must admit, this is a pretty solution. A surgeon’s intervention,” Mary said. “No one can deny Anne has the acuity and aim of a scalpel. She’s impervious to shame, while being well-aware of its impact on those around her. And she has the resources to allow her to make a splash in New York society, though her money’s old enough she will merit some respect. I shall write her in the morning.”

“And if she does not succeed?” Emma said.

“I suppose Dr. Foster may find it necessary to visit Mrs. Manson Mingott and make sure she has been taking her tonics as prescribed,” Mary said, smiling. “Or then, Newport is lovely in the summer and we’d be happy to have you and the girls come to stay for a few weeks, Emma. Henry, if you can’t get away, you needn’t fret. We shall have it all well in hand and Mrs. Brook and Mrs. Laurence will make sure you don’t expire while living as a bachelor.”

“I notice you don’t leave Henry to Jo Bhaer’s tender mercies,” Jed remarked.

“I shouldn’t think he’d survive the theatricals at Plumfield,” Mary said. “And she has quite a heavy hand with caraway, which I know makes Henry dyspeptic.”

“Shouldn’t we just send you to Matthew’s side? Within a week, you’d have wedding bells rung for the lovesick couple and Mrs. van Rhijn ringing them herself as well as all the receipts for Delmonico’s menu for Mrs. Hudson to improve upon,” Jed said. 

Henry nodded. 

Emma smiled.

“I’m far too busy here at the moment,” Mary said. “And Anne is likely in need of some diversion.”

“Heaven help Mrs. van Rhijn,” Jed said.

“I believe Matthew must be trying his best in that regard,” Henry said. 

“Unless she has already dispatched him for chowder,” Emma added, making them all laugh.

[coconut530]

Pretty Ladies and Dumb Cowboy Guy

[alannacellucci]

The Breakers Music Room —

The MUSIC ROOM, designed by Richard van der Boyen and Allard et Fil, reflects the French Baroque interior the Vanderbilts would have seen in places like the Paris Opera House, and was the setting for family weddings and debutante parties. Gold and silver leaf, blue-grey Campan marble from France, mirrors, and crystal light fixtures combine to make a glittering effect for evening concerts and receptions. The spirit of music and numerous great composers are celebrated in the ceiling painting. This room and furnishings, in addition to those in the Morning Room, were designed and constructed in France then shipped to this location for installation.

————————————————————————

The Breakers Morning Room —

The wall paneling in the MORNING ROOM was designed by Richard van der Boyen, who carved elaborate garlands and figures in the late Renaissance style. Classical mythology and allegories decorate this room, from the painted allegory of the four seasons on the ceiling, to the Muses who appear in the corners of the room, painted on platinum leaf panels.

The room also displays portraits of Cornelius Vanderbilt II by the preeminent American portrait painter, John Singer Sargent, and the Count Laszlo Széchényi and Countess Gladys Széchényi, by the Hungarian artist Philip Alexius De László. Countess Széchényi was born Gladys Vanderbilt, the youngest of Cornelius and Alice's children. In 1908, Gladys married Count Laszlo Széchényi, a member of Hungary's premier aristocratic family and a minister to the Court of St. James in London and, later, to the United States.

When her mother Alice passed away in 1934, Countess Széchényi inherited The Breakers. In 1948, to raise funds for the Preservation Society's restoration of Hunter House, Countess Széchényi opened The Breakers to the public for tours. That same year, she leased The Breakers to the Preservation Society for $1.00 a year and continued to fund the maintenance of the house. The Preservation Society purchased The Breakers in 1972 for approximately $400,000. As an early member and supporter of the Preservation Society, Countess Széchényi made a major contribution to the preservation of Newport's architectural heritage.

——————————————————————————

The Breakers Breakfast / Dining Room —

The BREAKFAST ROOM served as both breakfast room and informal family dining room. The table, which may be extended to seat 16 would have seated the entire family or served as seating for a small, informal dinner or luncheon. One of the premier decorators for America's elite families, Jules Allard et Fils Cules Allard & Sons) of Paris, supplied the Louis XV style furniture for the room and decided on the room's color scheme. The Vanderbilts were surrounded by imagery of the harvest.

Look around to see fruits and vegetables plentifully adorning the walls. The 12 rose-colored stone columns are solid alabaster and draw your eyes upward to the ceiling painting of the goddess Aurora heralding the dawn. The massive chandeliers and wall sconces in the Imperial design are made of French Baccarat crystal, and were piped for gas and wired for electricity at the time the house was built. The crown shaped tops indicate the style, while the rings on the chains were used to adjust the flow of gas.

Allard and Sons of Paris assisted Hunt with furnishings and fixtures, Austro-American sculptor Karl Bitter designed relief sculpture, and Boston architect Ogden Codman decorated the family quarters. The mansion covers nearly an acre of the 13-acre property and has 70 rooms including 48 bedrooms for family and staff. There are 27 fireplaces. It was equipped with electricity – still a novelty in houses during the Gilded Age – as well as gas for lighting.

The Breakers has entertained presidents, royalty and guests from across the world for more than 125 years and today is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. It is the flagship of the Newport Mansions and a world-famous iconic image of the City-by-the-Sea. The Breakers was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

[iliketoseeeverythinginneon]

Instagram: iliketoseeeverythinginneon

[nomojave]

The Breakers, Newport, RI