Once the summer playground of America's wealthiest families, Newport remains a popular vacation destination at any time of year. The famous mansions, each more opulent than the last, offer detailed tours and give a fascinating glimpse into Gilded Age extravagance. While the town rightly emphasizes its history with a variety of museums and tours, Newport also has a vibrant, contemporary side, made manifest in quirky shops and great restaurants.
Restaurants in Newport
5.0 based on 5 reviews
We scheduled a visit with Jim Egan who owns the museum across from the Tower. He started with an explanatory tour around this iconic Newport structure. That alone was very enlightening, but afterwards we went into the museum & were blown away by his extensive knowledge, study & conclusions about who built the Tower. I strongly urge anyone visiting the Tower to set up a tour with Jim. You won’t regret it!
4.5 based on 1,729 reviews
Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. It was a summer house, or "cottage", as Newporters called them in remembrance of the modest houses of the early 19th century. But Marble House was much more; it was a social and architectural landmark that set the pace for Newport's subsequent transformation from a quiet summer colony of wooden houses to the legendary resort of opulent stone palaces. Mr. Vanderbilt was the grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who established the family's fortune in steamships and the New York Central Railroad. His older brother was Cornelius II, who built The Breakers. Alva Vanderbilt was a leading hostess in Newport society, and envisioned Marble House as her "temple to the arts" in America. The house was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles. The cost of the house was reported in contemporary press accounts to be $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble. Upon its completion, Mr. Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present.
Designed by the famous architect Richard Morris Hunt for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt, Marble House was considered the finest and most opulent home at its completion in 1892, and influenced the building of the future grandiose estates during the Gilded Age. The Vanderbilts, Astors & Morgans raced their yachts on Narragansett Bay while America's social elite enjoyed approximately eight weeks of lavish entertaining and events each July & August. Presented as a gift to Alva from her husband for her 39th birthday, the unfortunate couple ultimately terminated their marriage. Designed with similar exterior aspects of "The Whitehouse", this 50 room mansion is considered one of the top three, and is a must visit. The grand flowing marble staircase; gilded & painted details; massive chandeliers; sculptures; stained glass windows and Gothic fireplace; ornate plasterwork & ceilings; this estate is a remarkable work of art & craftsmanship. Over 500,000 cubic feet of marble was used in its construction, which provides an enviromental cooling element to this lavish property. A Chinese Tea House was erected in the back garden, but later moved from the cliff area to a safer position on the property. American socialite Cornelius Vanderbilt II, older brother of William, ultimately constructed the stately and much larger "Breakers" nearby in 1895, but I prefer the more "intimate" feeling of Marble House, which is available for special occasions, should your budget allow.
4.5 based on 102 reviews
The Isaac Bell House is one of the best surviving examples of shingle style architecture in the country. The house was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead and White in 1883 for Isaac Bell, a wealthy cotton broker and investor. After passing through a succession of owners, the Isaac Bell House was purchased by the Preservation Society in 1996, and is today designated a National Historic Landmark. The Isaac Bell House was remarkably innovative when it appeared in 1883. It is a combination of Old English and European architecture with colonial American and exotic details, such as a Japanese-inspired open floor plan and bamboo-style porch columns.
4.5 based on 1,851 reviews
The Elms was the summer residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind of Philadelphia and New York. Mr. Berwind made his fortune in the coal industry. In 1898, the Berwinds engaged Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer to design a house modeled after the mid-18th century French chateau d'Asnieres (c.1750) outside Paris. Construction of The Elms was completed in 1901 at a cost reported at approximately $1.4 million. The interiors and furnishings were designed by Allard and Sons of Paris and were the setting for the Berwinds' collection of Renaissance ceramics, 18th century French and Venetian paintings, and Oriental jades.
Mary Ann was our most excellent delightful tour guide, she knew everything about this beautiful mansion. I highly recommend this tour. The Newport Preservation Society has done an awesome job to upkeep the mansions. See them all...
4.5 based on 158 reviews
Kingscote is a landmark of the Gothic Revival style in American architecture. Its appearance in Newport marked the beginning of the "cottage boom" that would distinguish the town as a veritable laboratory for the design of picturesque houses throughout the 19th century. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Jones family left Newport never to return, and the house was sold in 1864 to China Trade merchant William Henry King. His nephew David took over the house in 1876, and several years later decided to enlarge Kingscote. He engaged the firm of McKim, Mead and White to make the renovations, including the new dining room. The room combines Colonial American details with exotic ornament - reflecting the architects' interest in combining eastern and western motifs. The innovative use of materials was also important, such as cork tiles as a covering for the wall frieze and ceiling, and an early installation of opalescent glass bricks by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The house remained in the King family until 1972, when the last descendant left it to the Preservation Society. Today, Kingscote is a National Historic Landmark. It is a rare example of a Gothic Revival house and landscape setting preserved intact with original family collections.
4.0 based on 48 reviews
Hunter House is one of the finest examples of Georgian Colonial architecture from Newport's "golden age" in the mid-18th century.The north half of Hunter House was constructed between 1748 and 1754 by Jonathon Nichols, Jr., a prosperous merchant and colonial deputy. After his death in 1756, the property was sold to Colonel Joseph Wanton, Jr., who was also a deputy governor of the colony and a merchant. He enlarged the house by adding a south wing and a second chimney, transforming the building into a formal Georgian mansion with a large central hall. Colonel Wanton also ordered the graining, or "spreckling," of the pine paneling in several rooms to resemble walnut and rosewood. During the American Revolution, Colonel Wanton fled from Newport due to his Loyalist sympathies. His house was used as the headquarters of Admiral de Ternay, commander of the French fleet, when French forces occupied Newport in 1780. After the war, Colonel Wanton's house was acquired by William Hunter, a U. S. Senator and President Andrew Jackson's charge d'affaires to Brazil. The Hunters sold the house in the mid-1860s, and it passed through a series of owners until the mid-1940s. Concerned that the fine interiors of the house would be purchased and removed from the building, a small group of concerned citizens led by Mrs. George Henry Warren initiated a preservation effort, purchasing the house in 1945 and forming The Preservation Society of Newport County. The Preservation Society restored Hunter House to the era of Colonel Wanton (1757 to 1779). Today, the house exhibits examples of the finest achievements in the arts and crafts of 18th century Newport. The collections include furniture by the Townsend-Goddard family, premier cabinetmakers of the colonial era who worked in the neighborhood of Hunter House. Newport pewter and paintings by Cosmo Alexander, Gilbert Stuart and Samuel King are also on display. Hunter House is a National Historic Landmark.
It was amazing the amount of 18th Century Craftsmanship that went into it! Also the amount of preservation that had to go into it!
4.0 based on 105 reviews
To all the one star reviews, you are uninformed and uneducated. I grew up in RI and this tower was not a windmill or gristmill. No gristmill in America was ever built like this. Check out the Kenyon Grist Mill in Usquepaugh, RI which has been in operation since 1888. It’s equivalent to Stonehenge in England which I visited. It was built as an observatory where the sun shines through an opening on the summer and winter solstice, on to a specific stone. It was built by the Knight Templars of which I am a member and used as a calendar. It’s a brilliant piece of work and design.
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