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October 12, 2007
Friday
Samuel Ward McAllister originated the "400" as a reflection of the capacity of Mrs Astor’s ballroom, which accommodated the "400 people in New York who really mattered." McAllister’s private mission was to be New York’s tastemaker, as part of his lifelong desire for personal recognition. He is considered to be the one person largely responsible for turning the seaside resort of Newport into a destination for the status-seeking rich families of the Gilded Age.
The "400" still exists as a social benchmark according to people who think they know.
We began our day with a van tour of Newport. Our tour guide, Mary, told us that lots of the houses are really old. Doris Duke refurbished about 200 of them in the 50s and they are rented to people who can afford them.
Mary took us on Bellevue Avenue, Ochre Point and Ocean Drive where lots of rich and famous people still live. We passed a mansion owned by Merrill Lynch IV, whom we help to support, and a mansion owned by John Holland, CEO of Fruit of the Loom, who supports us.
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I took a photo of a lighthouse that Caroline Kennedy owns. It is on the Auchincloss estate that she inherited from her mother.
After the van tour, we drove back to Bellevue and toured a few of the old estates that are open to the public under ownership of the Preservation Society of Newport County.
The Breakers was built by Richard Morris Hunt for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, grandson of the Commodore, and finished in 1895. It is considered to be the quintessential representative of Newport Society of the Gilded Age. It is 65,000 square feet and 70 rooms, though more than half of the rooms were servants’ residence and off limits to the family.
Cornelius’ daughter Gladys sold the building to the Preservation Society but the family still owns the furnishings and her grandchildren still spend summers occupying the third floor, which is not open to visitors.
Rosecliff was built by Stanford White for Theresa Fair Oelrichs, daughter of one of the four partners in the Comstock Lode. It is used a lot for movies and you can get married there if you want. A heart-shaped grand stairway is a signature backdrop of the building.
Marble House is another of Richard Morris Hunt’s works (as is Biltmore in North Carolina) built for Cornelius’ little brother, William, which he gave to his wife Alva for her 39th birthday. The Vanderbilts spent $11 million to build the house, $7 million for 500,000 cubic feet of marble. The ballroom walls and ceiling are entirely covered with 22 karat gold leaf.
Alva divorced William four years after receiving this gift, married Oliver Hazzard Perry Belmont and moved down the street. She used Marble House as a storage shed for her art pieces and she did her laundry there.
The Astors’ Beechwood Mansion is listed as "the place where American Society began," ruled by.JPG)
Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor who married the brother of John Jacob Astor III and assumed the title "The Mrs Astor" upon the death of her sister-in-law. This mansion is still privately owned and our tour was led by costumed actors who pretended that we had arrived for a party in 1925. They showed us the house and gave us some history of the family, some of "the dirt."
They introduced us to Cole Porter and his wife, and remarked on their humility, traveling with only two servants. They also noted that the family was staying longer in Newport than the normal season, which used to end September 1st. The reason was that Rhode Island did not agree with the provisions of the Volstead Amendment and took pains to not enforce Prohibition.
We ended the day on that sober note and returned to our hotel for cocktails and dinner.
Saturday
We visited the fourth estate on our package ticket, the Elms, constructed in 1901 by Edward Berwind, who, in spite of my never having heard of him, in 1900 was considered to be "one of the 59 men who ruled America." This made him an important member of Newport’s summer society, though certainly not on an equal footing with Mrs Astor.
A carriage house and stables on the edge of the property were converted to a garage when the Berwinds began using automobiles. The head coachmen became the family driver but he never learned how to back up so they installed a large turntable in the garage.
On our way out of town, we stopped at Green Animals Topiary and Gail toured the manicured gardens while I read a newspaper. Then we drove through Providence and across the Adirondacks to Cooperstown.
Friday
Samuel Ward McAllister originated the "400" as a reflection of the capacity of Mrs Astor’s ballroom, which accommodated the "400 people in New York who really mattered." McAllister’s private mission was to be New York’s tastemaker, as part of his lifelong desire for personal recognition. He is considered to be the one person largely responsible for turning the seaside resort of Newport into a destination for the status-seeking rich families of the Gilded Age.
The "400" still exists as a social benchmark according to people who think they know.
We began our day with a van tour of Newport. Our tour guide, Mary, told us that lots of the houses are really old. Doris Duke refurbished about 200 of them in the 50s and they are rented to people who can afford them.
Mary took us on Bellevue Avenue, Ochre Point and Ocean Drive where lots of rich and famous people still live. We passed a mansion owned by Merrill Lynch IV, whom we help to support, and a mansion owned by John Holland, CEO of Fruit of the Loom, who supports us.
.JPG)
I took a photo of a lighthouse that Caroline Kennedy owns. It is on the Auchincloss estate that she inherited from her mother.After the van tour, we drove back to Bellevue and toured a few of the old estates that are open to the public under ownership of the Preservation Society of Newport County.
The Breakers was built by Richard Morris Hunt for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, grandson of the Commodore, and finished in 1895. It is considered to be the quintessential representative of Newport Society of the Gilded Age. It is 65,000 square feet and 70 rooms, though more than half of the rooms were servants’ residence and off limits to the family.
Cornelius’ daughter Gladys sold the building to the Preservation Society but the family still owns the furnishings and her grandchildren still spend summers occupying the third floor, which is not open to visitors.
Rosecliff was built by Stanford White for Theresa Fair Oelrichs, daughter of one of the four partners in the Comstock Lode. It is used a lot for movies and you can get married there if you want. A heart-shaped grand stairway is a signature backdrop of the building.
Marble House is another of Richard Morris Hunt’s works (as is Biltmore in North Carolina) built for Cornelius’ little brother, William, which he gave to his wife Alva for her 39th birthday. The Vanderbilts spent $11 million to build the house, $7 million for 500,000 cubic feet of marble. The ballroom walls and ceiling are entirely covered with 22 karat gold leaf.
Alva divorced William four years after receiving this gift, married Oliver Hazzard Perry Belmont and moved down the street. She used Marble House as a storage shed for her art pieces and she did her laundry there.
The Astors’ Beechwood Mansion is listed as "the place where American Society began," ruled by
.JPG)
Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor who married the brother of John Jacob Astor III and assumed the title "The Mrs Astor" upon the death of her sister-in-law. This mansion is still privately owned and our tour was led by costumed actors who pretended that we had arrived for a party in 1925. They showed us the house and gave us some history of the family, some of "the dirt."They introduced us to Cole Porter and his wife, and remarked on their humility, traveling with only two servants. They also noted that the family was staying longer in Newport than the normal season, which used to end September 1st. The reason was that Rhode Island did not agree with the provisions of the Volstead Amendment and took pains to not enforce Prohibition.
We ended the day on that sober note and returned to our hotel for cocktails and dinner.
Saturday
We visited the fourth estate on our package ticket, the Elms, constructed in 1901 by Edward Berwind, who, in spite of my never having heard of him, in 1900 was considered to be "one of the 59 men who ruled America." This made him an important member of Newport’s summer society, though certainly not on an equal footing with Mrs Astor.
A carriage house and stables on the edge of the property were converted to a garage when the Berwinds began using automobiles. The head coachmen became the family driver but he never learned how to back up so they installed a large turntable in the garage.
On our way out of town, we stopped at Green Animals Topiary and Gail toured the manicured gardens while I read a newspaper. Then we drove through Providence and across the Adirondacks to Cooperstown.
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