Mary Lynn and I drove down to Newport, RI, which is a beautiful seaside community with several spectacular rivers. It was also home to the “summer cottages” where society’s richest families escaped from the summer heat and sickness that hit New York City. At least half a dozen of these ‘cottages’ have been lovingly restored by the Newport Preservation Society, and are available to tour. Most are located in the same section of Newport however be forewarned, it’s hard to visit more than two in a day. If you do it easy to rush through and miss some of the spectacular architecture and history.
In fact, there is a famous path behind the mansions called Cliff Walk, where you can get a view of the mansion’s backyard and rear elevation. The path is, as the name implies, along the top of a cliff overlooking one of Newport's most spectacular bays. Beautiful views in all directions.
We toured the Breakers, the summer home of one of the many Vanderbilt's. The Breakers is considered by many the most opulent example of these ‘summer cottages’, most of which were built in the early 1900’s.
I was a little disappointed to find that no photography was allowed inside the mansions. Usually museums restrict the use of flash photography but here it was no photography, flash or otherwise. What a shame. the interiors of these mansions are truly unbelievable and photos would help convey just how over the top the mansions interiors are.
So I had to settle for pictures of the outside of The Breakers, which hopefully gives you an idea of just how lavish these cottages could be. The small house with the red roof in the picture below is actually the children’s play house.
All in all I highly recommend a trip to Newport, RI. The traffic can be a real bear however the views and the architecture make the trip worthwhile.
See Ya!
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