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.