Though the Vanderbilts spent millions to build The Breakers, they considered the 70-room mansion in Newport, Rhode Island to simply be their “summer cottage.”
The enchanting Breakers mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, is the epitome of Gilded Age luxury. Built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, then one of the richest men in America, the 70-room mansion was a stunning summer getaway for the wealthy Vanderbilt family.
The mansion’s classic Italian Renaissance design and brilliant ocean views made it a beloved residence for the family for years. But after Cornelius’ death in 1899, his family faced increasingly rising costs to maintain the residence. The mansion not only required dozens of staff members, but also tons of coal to operate — which became too much even for the Vanderbilts.
In the mid-20th century, The Breakers Newport opened its doors to the public. Every year since, thousands of visitors have flocked to the mansion for a glimpse at Gilded Age opulence.
Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s Life Of Luxury
Cornelius Vanderbilt II was born on Staten Island, New York, in 1843. Purportedly the favorite of his grandfather — who made the family’s fortune through in the railroad and shipping industry — Cornelius was a businessman and railroad magnate. When his grandfather and father died, they both left him millions of dollars.
In 1867, Cornelius married Alice Claypoole Gwynne, and the couple had seven children. Though he and his family primarily lived at a massive mansion in Manhattan, they also bought property in Rhode Island.
Wikimedia CommonsCornelius Vanderbilt II was the favorite grandson of the railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt.
In 1885 — the same year Cornelius became president of the New York Central Railroad — he and his family purchased a mansion in Newport for $450,000 (or around $16 million today). Previously owned by tobacco manufacturer Pierre Lorillard IV, it burned to the ground in 1892.
Cornelius then set out to build a new mansion — The Breakers.
Breaking Ground On The Breakers, The European-Inspired Mansion In Newport
In order to avoid the tragedy of another house fire, Cornelius Vanderbilt commissioned the architect Richard Morris Hunt, a prominent Gilded Age architect, to design the new house with steel, brick, and limestone. As the Preservation Society of Newport County reports, the house’s boilers were also designed to be tucked safely underground.
Library of CongressThe exterior of The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island.
The 70-room, five-story Breakers mansion was built between 1893 and 1895. It was designed with Italian Renaissance flourishes, including Roman arches and columns, and the mansion’s 50-foot ceilings in its Great Hall was meant to evoke the fresh-air beauty of Italy’s open-air courtyards. Other touches, like the intricate, hand-set tile mosaics in the Billiard Room and outdoor corridor (loggia), also created an atmosphere of European elegance.
Meanwhile, the mansion’s chandeliers sparkled with Baccarat crystal, and the panels in the Morning Room shone with platinum leaf.
Renata3/Wikimedia CommonsPlatinum details on the panels in the Morning Room.
Though The Breakers was built with Old World elegance, it also had the latest technology. The mansion was hooked up to electricity (though it also used gas lighting) which, at the time of the Gilded Age, was a novelty. As if this wasn’t enough, the mansion also had 27 fireplaces.
Marked with 30-foot-high iron gates, the sprawling mansion sits on a 13-acre property that extends to the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. If its inhabitants ever grew tired of dozens of beautiful rooms inside, they could easily walk to gaze out at the splendor of the sea.
But The Breakers had cost some $7 million to build — and it would prove to be expensive for even the Vanderbilts to maintain.
The Rising Cost Of Maintaining The Mansion — And How It Opened To The Public In The 1970s
In 1899, Cornelius Vanderbilt II died of a stroke at the age of 55. At the time of his death, his estate was appraised at over $72 million, $20 million of which was real estate — including The Breakers. Today, the value of Cornelius’ estate would be around $2.83 billion.
He left The Breakers to his wife, Alice. But as time went on, the costs of maintaining The Breakers grew substantially more expensive. By the mid-1920s, the property taxes for the mansion rose to $83,000 annually. And, in order to run, the mansion required dozens of servants, and over 150 tons of coal each year.
Wikimedia CommonsCornelius bequeathed a life interest in The Breakers to his wife Alice.
Still, Alice managed to keep the house running for 35 more years until her death at the age of 89 in 1934. She bequeathed the house to her youngest daughter, Countess Gladys Széchenyi.
Although Gladys had inherited a share the Vanderbilt fortune, rumors swiftly spread that The Breakers had become more of a burden than a gift. Though Gladys did briefly occupy the mansion, she allowed the Preservation Society of Newport County to offer tours of the first floor of the property in 1948.
In return, the Preservation Society covered operating expenses and maintenance costs. Then, in 1972, the Preservation Society bought the property outright for $365,000 (roughly $2.81 million today.)
ZR1748/Wikimedia CommonsThe exterior of The Breakers in 2023. The famous Gilded Age mansion has been opened to the public for decades, and has welcomed thousands of visitors.
The Breakers in all its glory was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1994 — and is still visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists in Rhode Island every year.
In the gallery above, take a step inside The Breakers in Newport, the opulent Gilded Age mansion that was built by one of America’s wealthiest families.
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