Marble House 2009

     Saturday, July 18, 2009: I've been to both Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence. In reality, after I walked through the main campus of Brown University, I entered the ground floor of Manning Hall, the location of a branch of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. (The main museum is in Bristol, RI.) Inside, students of the university set up different temporary exhibit themes covering certain aspects of Human societies. When I was there, I saw Believing Africa. By way of pictures, texts, and exhibit items, I learned about how the people of sub-Saharan Africa combine their beliefs in world religions, such as Christianity and Islam, with their indigenous beliefs and of how these beliefs affected their lives. Afterward, I walked over to the Museum of Art-RISD, 224 Benefit St. (401-454-6500). On four floors, I observed many works of art, from ancient Egypt to the present, from around the world, via paintings, drawings, and sculpture as well as decorative arts, period rooms, and photos. As art museums go, this was a mid-sized museum compared to the bigger art museums in New York City; Philadelphia; and Washington, DC, but I spent over three hours here. When I was there, one of the temporary exhibit areas presented the works of architect and designer Marcel Breuer. Thus, via pictures, furniture, and scale-models of buildings, I looked at the places and items that Breuer designed. The Breuer-designed building that I'm most familiar with was the Whitney Museum of Art in NYC.

The Breakers 2009

     Friday, July 17, 2009: By way of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) bus #60, I traveled from Providence to Newport. Once I arrived at Newport, I rode the #67 Yellow Line trolley/bus from the Visitors Center to the Breakers, 44 Ochre Point Ave. (401-847-1000). If you see nothing else in Newport, or the entire state of RI, you should see this mansion or "cottage," as the Gilded-Age Elite called these places. The Vanderbilt family once owned this 1895 European-Renaissance-styled mansion of 70 rooms. This was one of those places where I first didn't know whether to look up, down, or sideways! Here, I saw interiors of French and Italian stone, marble, and alabaster as well as elaborate wood trims, gilding on the walls and ceilings, and paintings on the ceilings. Much of the furniture and items displayed French and Italian designs, and they looked just as elaborate as the interiors of the walls and ceilings, especially the great hall and dining room. The rooms on the upper floors were just as elegant in a French-18th-century design, but in a more subdued way, including the morning room and bedrooms. Finally, I entered the workrooms and kitchen where the staff of around 40 servants worked to maintain this place. Next, I thought that the Marble House, once owned by other members of the Vanderbilt family, would be anti-climatic after seeing the Breakers, but I was wrong. Although, it wasn't as large as the Breakers, inside, this 1892 mansion was just as elaborate and elegant. These Vanderbilts wanted a mansion built to resemble the Petit Trianon on the grounds of Versailles, and they got it. This place showed 18th-century French designs mainly copied from Versailles, especially in the ballroom and dining room. One room, however, the Gothic Room, looked almost like a medieval church; all it needed was an altar. Nevertheless, this room exhibited Gothic arches, stained-glass windows, and medieval furniture. In both mansions, I felt elegant as I ascended the grand staircases to the next level--even if I wasn't dressed elegantly, and both places offered some great views of the Atlantic Ocean.