Rhode Island - Mansions

Newport Mansions
The Preservation Society of Newport County
424 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI  02840
Phone: 401-847-1000

See Map

Join The Preservation Society of Newport County and Newport's other museums and attractions this winter for a season-long cooperative cultural program that will explore a lesser-known period in Newport's remarkable history: the 1920s and '30s, when Newport had swing and glamour but change was in the air. It was an age defined by the freedom of jazz. Rosecliff, The Breakers and The Elms will feature Jazz Age-themed exhibits, fashions, tours, concerts, lectures and films.

Rosecliff
Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI  02840
Phone: 401-847-1000

See Map

This house was completed in 1902 and modeled after the Grand Trianon at Versailles. Rosecliff was the setting for many spectacular Newport parties and the setting for several Hollywood movies, including “The Great Gatsby,” “True Lies,” and “Amistad.”
Hours: November 17, 2007 – January 1, 2008, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m.; last tour on Christmas Eve at 3 pm. Closed Christmas Day. January 2-April 4, 2008, open Saturday, Sundays, holidays, and daily during Winter Festival (February 19-22); open at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m. April 5-May 23, open daily at 10 a.m. last tour admission at 5 p.m.; close at 6 p.m. May 24 – October 12, open at 10 a.m.; last tour at 5 p.m., close at 6 p.m.; October 13 – November 14, open at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m., close at 5 p.m. November 15 – January 4, 2009, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

The Breakers
Ochre Point Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-1000

The grandest of the Newport summer cottages and a National Historic landmark, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, President and Chairman of the New York Central Railroad, commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a summer retreat for his large family. This 70-room Italian Renaissance-style house, completed in 1895, includes a 45-foot high central Great Hall. It sits on a 13-acre estate overlooking a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean, where the waves crashing on the rocks below gave the house its name.
Hours: November 17, 2007 – January 1, 2008, open daily at 9 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m.; last tour on Christmas Eve at 3 pm. Closed Christmas Day. January 2 – April 4, 2008, opens daily at 9 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m. April 5 – November 14, 2008, opens daily at 9 a.m.; last tour at 5 p.m.; house closes at 6 p.m. November 15-January 4, 2009, open daily at 9 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m.; last tour on Christmas Eve at 3 pm. Closed Christmas Day.

The Breakers Stable and Carriage House
Bateman and Coggeshall Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-1000

The stable includes a private collection of Vanderbilt family memorabilia, including several road coaches.

The Elms
Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-1000

A National Historic Landmark, The Elms is a French-style chateau built in 1901 by architect Horace Trumbauer as a summer house for millionaire entrepreneur Edward Julius Berwind. It contains every technological marvel of its time, and was one of the first Newport houses to be fully electrified. The estate includes a 10-acrre park and elaborate sunken garden.
Hours: November 17, 2007 –January 1, 2008, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m.; last tour admission on Christmas Eve at 3 pm. Closed Christmas Day. April 5 – November 14, 2008, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour at p.m.; closes at 6 p.m. November 15- January 4, 2009, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m.; last tour on Christmas Eve at 3 pm. Closed Christmas Day.

Isaac Bell House
Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-1000

Hours: June 21-September 1, 2008, Hunter House tours offered at 10 and 11 a.m., noon, 1:30, 2:30, 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Schedule is subject to change; call 401-847-1000 for more information.

Presented as a restoration work in progress, this National Historic Landmark is regarded as an innovative compendium of the design influences that characterize the American architectural period known as the "shingle-style." Built in 1883 by the famed architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, the house combines Old English and European architecture with colonial American and exotic details, such as a Japanese-inspired open floor plan and bamboo-style porch columns.

Kingscote
Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-1000

Hours: May 24 – October 12, open at 10 a.m.; last tour admission at 5 p.m.; close at 6 p.m. Kingscote tours offered every half hour. Schedule is subject to change; call 401-847-1000 for more information.

This was one of the early summer houses designed in the Gothic Revival style, in 1839, for Georgia planter George Noble Jones. The family's connection to Newport was severed by the Civil War, and the house was acquired by China Trade merchant William Henry King, a prominent Newporter. Five generations of King family collections are on display. Kingscote's dining room, added in 1881, includes the earliest known installation of Tiffany glass. The house is a National Historic Landmark.

Marble House
Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-1000

In 1888, William K. Vanderbilt asked architect Richard Morris Hunt to design for him, "the very best living accommodations that money could buy." The result was Marble House, completed in 1892 at a cost of $11 million, and containing 500,000 cubic feet of American, Italian and African marbles. Vanderbilt presented the deed to the house to his wife Alva as a 39th birthday present. The grounds include a colorful Chinese teahouse overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
November 17, 2007 –January 1, 2008, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m.; last tour on Christmas Eve at 3 pm. Closed Christmas Day. January 2 – April 4, 2008, open Saturday, Sundays, holidays, and daily during Winter Festival (February 19-22). Opens at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m. April 5- October 12, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour at 5 p.m.; close at 6 p.m. October 13– January 4, 2009, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour at 4 p.m.; close at 5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Newport Mansions
The Preservation Society of Newport County
424 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI  02840
Phone: 401-847-1000

See Map

Join The Preservation Society of Newport County and Newport's other museums and attractions this winter for a season-long cooperative cultural program that will explore a lesser-known period in Newport's remarkable history: the 1920s and '30s, when Newport had swing and glamour but change was in the air. It was an age defined by the freedom of jazz. Rosecliff, The Breakers and The Elms will feature Jazz Age-themed exhibits, fashions, tours, concerts, lectures and films.

Ochre Court
Cliff Walk
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-6650

This palatial former summer home was built in 1892, and is now the main administration building for Salve Regina University. The main floor is open to guests Monday - Friday, 9 am - 4 pm. During the summer, guided tours are available.

Hunter House
54 Washington Street
Newport, RI  02840
Phone: 401-847-1000  401-847-7516

A decadent Mansion in historic Newport

See Map

Hunter House is one of the finest examples of Georgian Colonial architecture from Newport's "golden age" in the mid-18th century. The French admiral Charles Louis d’Arsac de Ternay used this 1748 home as his Revolutionary War headquarters. The carved pineapple over the doorway was a symbol of welcome throughout Colonial America. The elliptical arch in the central hall is a typical Newport detail. Call 401-847-1000 information and tour schedule.

Belcourt Castle
Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-846-0669

Belcourt is a French-style castle, built in Louis XIII style. It was constructed for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and finished in 1894. On display are a collection of art treasures and antiques from all over the world.

Note: The Preservation Society of Newport maintains and operates many of the mansions listed below. Multi-mansion and group tickets from the Society are available at a reduced rate.

Chateau-Sur-Mer
Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-1000

Hours: April 5 – November 14, 2008, open daily at 10 a.m.; last tour admission at 5 p.m.; house closes at 6 p.m. Schedule is subject to change; call 401-847-1000.

This 1852 stone mansion is a classic example of High Victorian architecture and furnishings, including wallpaper, ceramics and stenciling, constructed for China Trade merchant William Wetmore. His son, George Peabody Wetmore, became Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Senator. The house is noted for its original Victorian park, with century-old weeping and copper beech trees, a Chinese moongate, and Colonial Revival garden pavilion.

Chepstow
Narragansett Avenue
Newport, RI
Phone: 401-847-1000

Hours: June 21 – September 1, 2008, Chepstow tours offered at 10 and 11 a.m., noon, 1:30, 2:30, 4 and 5 p.m. Schedule is subject to change; call 401-847-1000 for more information.

This Italianate-style villa was designed by architect George Champlin Mason in 1860 and is a classic example of a Victorian summer cottage. It was the summer residence of the prominent Morris family from New York, which included a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The house contains the Morris family's collections, including 19th century landscape paintings by the Hudson River school of artists.