We had gone to Newport, Rhode Island to see the famous historic mansions on Bellevue avenue, along the Atlantic ocean! Newport is famous for the homes of the wealthiest families in America at the turn of the 19^th century. These mansions are aptly named as Homes of the Gilded age; a term coined by Mark Twain to denote the late 1800s 1930 period, when American business tycoons amassed enough wealth and fortune to build lavish, palatial homes. There are guided tours offered and it takes about two hours to see each of these houses and the intricate decoration, antique furniture and architecture make it a memorable visit! We could manage to see only three of the mansions - the Astors Beechwoods, the Breakers and Marble House and we left Newport, all dazzled and googly-eyed after a day spent seeing some of the most brilliant architectural landmarks in the North East. Here are some photos and trivia about these mansions.

The Breakers : the 'summer cottage' of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, railroad magnate. Architect - Richard Morris Hunt. Modeled after the seaside palaces of Genoa, the house covers approximately 130000 sq.ft, has 70 rooms and 23 bathrooms. This mansion is aptly named after the waves of the Atlantic crashing onto the rocks. The rooms include a 50 ft wide, long and high Grand Hall, a Music Room, a dazzling 2400 sq ft dining room having twelve enormous, rose alabaster pillars and a Billiards room having a detailed mosaic ceiling and twenty varieties of marble. The Library has a massive marble fireplace acquired from a 16^th century French Chateau. The bathtub is carved out of a single piece of marble and has a supply of hot, cold and saltwater tapped directly from the ocean. It took over two years to construct the various parts of this house which were shipped from over all parts of Europe.

Breakers - view from Ocean Walk

Music Room at the Breakers

View of the Atlantic from the back courtyard

Marble House : Architect - Richard Morris Hunt. It was built as a thirty-ninth birthday gift for Alva Vanderbilt, wife of William Vanderbilt. The construction of the house cost seven million and it took another four million to furnish. The house has around half a million cubic feet of marble, with its elaborate entrance hall and main staircase of yellow Siena marble, dining room of pink Numidian marble. The highlights of this mansion include a gold reception/ballroom, modeled after the Palace of Versailles and covered with 24-carat gold leaf; a Gothic style drawing room which has four stained glass windows featuring 13^th century patterns and Renaissance art objects and a Louis XIV style dining room. The dining room has a Louis XIV style table that seats twenty people and chairs made of solid bronze, gilded with gold. Footmen were required to help the guests with their chairs, due to the sheer weight of each chair 70 pounds!

Marble House - exterior front view

Marble House - Dining room

Gothic room at Marble House

Astors Beechwood : Architect Andrew Jackson Downing and Richard Morris Hunt. Summer house of William Astor and his wife. Years later, their son, John Jacob Astor IV, would be the richest man to die in the Titanic sinking. This mansion has living history tours in the form of actors in costumes of that period, posing as the Astor family members. The house interior is a lot simpler than the Vanderbilt houses; the Astors considering themselves more refined and upper-class. The highlights of this mansion include a ballroom and dining room with the view of the Atlantic ocean and a Music room with French doors leading out to a rose garden. While it is difficult to believe that the Marble House and Breakers actually had people living in them, this house has a homely touch to it.