Postcard Getaway

The Newport Mansions’ Grandeur: Rich in History, Luxury, and Architectural Beauty.

Written by Kaelie Piscitello

Newport’s mansions exude an elegance and taste of European-style architecture rarely found in the United States. Their gilded-age glamour brings a taste the rest of Rhode Island yearns for and other states dream of exemplifying.

While many people tour the bigger mansions, such as The Breakers, they often forget about others with equal or even more beauty. As a Salve Regina alum, I have toured most of these spectacular pieces of architecture, and have concocted a list of my favorites.

1. Marble House

Surprise, The Breakers is not my favorite. I love the Marble House the most because of its architecture and international history. The mansion shows off its grandeur like the rest; however, the owner, William Vanderbilt, was an extensive traveler and loved Asian architecture and goods. He weaved his interests into the structure.

I am always fascinated by the Chinese Tea House perched in the backyard because it brings a surprise to the Cliff Walk. The Cliff Walk features the other gran d European-style homes, so the Marble House’s tea house stands out against the marble structures. Its vibrant red and green coloring bringing the building to life and it has a striking presence along the coast.

The rooms inside of this mansion have more cohesion than the other homes nearby. Many of the other buildings have a mishmash of different cultures and architectural styles in each room. Marble House also combines styles, but they section it off room by room.

The Gothic room, for example, looks like a cathedral you might find in Europe, but it all sits in one self-contained space. Meanwhile, the Gold Room has an off-green color and is over the top, but again, it all stays in one space.

Marble House also has my favourite entryway of all the mansions. Everything in there is made entirely of cream-colored marble, including the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and the staircase. I love walking through it in silence.

2.Ochre Court (on Salve Regina Campus)

I’m biased as a Salve alum, but Ochre Court is one of the most gorgeous buildings in Newport. Its mermaid front door handles and gorgeous painted ceiling with cherubs screams gorgeous French decor. As the second largest mansion in Newport, it attracts many wandering eyes though it does not offer tours to travelers.

Salve hosts all of its choir and orchestra concerts in Ochre because of its amazing acoustics. The sound is enhanced in this hall, making it feel like a magical place around Christmas time when Salve decorates the entryway in ornate decorations.

Its ceiling has fantastic intricate carvings, and I’m always astounded at their detail because the ceiling stretches so high that I’m shocked anyone could make it up there to carve.

3. Chateau Sur Mer

I love Chateau Sur Mer because it feels much homier and cozier than the larger mansions. The traditional decor feels more tasteful and it’s less in your face with its grandeur, instead exuding elegance.

The interior has an all-wood frame, and its architect built it in the traditional French chateau style. The white walls complement the wood bannisters and flooring, bringing some life into the room.

In general, the house’s feel has a darker atmosphere because of the dark brown coloring.. This scheme can make it feel like an old library rather than an ostentatious building, giving it a unique presence among the gilded age buildings.

4. The Breakers

Of course, the Breakers sit high up in the ranking. The Breakers is the largest and most famous Newport Mansion. The Vanderbilts built this to make it in their “summer cottage,” which sits right on the cliff walk.

The whole building exudes a grand energy, and you can tell the Vanderbilts spared no expense in making sure it was the very best. The Breakers has my favorite bedroom among the Newport castles. The bright pink bedroom with rose furniture and wallpaper is gorgeous. I also love the furniture. It overloads the room with pink, but it has a timeless quality.

5. The Isaac Bell House

I went to the Isaac Bell House two years ago before renovations began. I am glad I toured it when I did because historians excavated during that time for historical documents and artifacts and shared it with their visitors. I enjoyed a personalized tour of the property led by a historian, making it different from the other self-led tours I’ve taken with the app or brochures.

The Isaac Bell House has beautiful hardwood floors throughout the first floor, and its dark brown wooden walls feel very homey. It has fabulous windows and is one of the few remaining shingle architecture-style homes. Much of the original furniture has disappeared with time, but this one you go to for more of a history lesson than to look at a fancy home.

6. The Elms

I lived across the street from The Elms for two years and only visited it once, but wish I had done so more often. The Elms has a light and airy open concept inside. Much of the interior is white painted, and few dark bits, like the staircase railing, exist, so there is not much contrast.

For this reason, the inside looks more like a palace than a mansion. One room has palm leaves decorating it, and it has more of a tropical feel than the other mansions. You can tell its owners intended the Elms to act as a “beach house.”

The Newport Mansions always keep fresh flowers here, and I love the garden features. The mansion sits off a busy road, but the backyard has stunning views. Majestic stone lions guard the patio.

7. Rosecliff

Rosecliff also feels homier than some of the other structures. However, it opens less frequently to tourists throughout the year. Furthermore, the Newport Mansions Society turns the upstairs into a moving museum that changes themes periodically.

People know Rosecliff as the “party mansion” because the owners (the Oelrich family) threw Great Gatsby-esque parties here throughout the Gilded Age.

The last time I visited Rosecliff, their exhibition featured Asian influences in Newport, and I learned about the wealthy Newport vacationers’ extensive trips to Asia and all of the art and extraordinary objects they took home. I loved this exhibit because I recently received my Fulbright grant and it got me excited to jet off to Asia.

However, the first time I toured the mansions in 2019, the Rosecliff exhibit featured a bunch of taxidermy birds and paintings of birds the artist killed so that the artist could study them and then paint them. I found this creepy, so the birds prevented me from seeing Rosecliff for several years. Luckily, the mansion has other elegant parts to tour that made me eventually want to return.