In Search of The Gilded Age In The Newport Rhode Island Mansions

The Great Gatsby novel and films were my introduction to the Gilded Age of America and the incredible wealth which arose from the heavy industry and development of the railroads in the late 19th century. On our Road Trip from Long Island to New England, we were keen to visit the Newport Rhode Island Mansions built as symbols of wealth during the Gilded Age. As we discovered, however, Newport has a lot more to offer than just large, opulent houses…

The state of Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States, although it’s the 2nd most densely populated state after New Jersey with just over 1.1 million residents (2024). The state is bordered by Connecticut to its west and Massachusetts to its north and east.

The two biggest cities in Rhode Island state are Providence (the State capital) and Newport. Providence is home to Ivy League member Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design.

We would have liked to have visited both Newport and Providence but had to choose due to time constraints. Newport won because of its Gilded Age credentials, having become the epicenter of the Gilded Age with summer homes being built here for many of the country’s prominent industrialists.

Matunuck Oyster Bar

Our first stop in Rhode Island state was at the Matunuck Oyster Bar which we passed on our journey from Mystic, Connecticut to Newport, Rhode Island (40 minutes’ drive east).

Since 2009 the Matunuck Oyster Bar has become a local institution, selling oysters from its own Oyster Farm (set up in 2002) which you can explore on a tour. Unfortunately, the restaurant suffered a fire in early 2025 and so restoration of the original premises is now underway. However, all is not lost for this summer season as the restaurant has set up a large marquee on the opposite side of the road offering al fresco dining overlooking the marina and salt ponds, with valet parking.

We had reserved a table, which is advisable, as I don’t think there was a spare table in this large marquee, even at the early time of 4.00pm. The local oysters received the seal of approval from Ricardo, as did the grilled lobster and fries from me.

From Matunuck, it is roughly a 30-minute drive into Newport, arriving first via the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, and then over the impressive Claiborne Pell / Newport Bridge.

Get out on the water in Newport, Rhode Island

Visit the Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame

Newport is situated on Aquidneck Island surrounded by water, and is sheltered by Narraganset Bay, offering a perfect base for sailing. In fact, the city is often referred to as the Sailing Capital of America. At The Sailing Museum, you can learn about the evolution of sailing as a sport and about the America’s Cup sailing competition – the oldest international competition operating in any sport.

Newport hosted the America’s Cup from 1930 until 1983, the year in which the Australian yacht, Australia II, won the America’s Cup and ended the 132-year winning streak of the New York Yacht Club. The Australia II yacht is on display at the WA Maritime Museum in Freemantle, Western Australia.

Take a sunset cruise of the Newport Harbor

As mentioned above, our vision was to take a sailing boat tour at sunset, but these options had all sold out on the weekend evenings we were in Newport. However, the reviews for the Gansett Sunset Newport Harbor Cruise** on TripAdvisor were very good, so we booked a trip with them instead, which turned out to be the highlight of our trip to Newport. (**Using American spellings for names – Newport Harbor)

You could preorder drinks for your trip with Gansett Cruises when you make your reservation. As the boat is relatively small and they only use a couple of crew members, this is helpful – it prevents people moving around on the boat as they bring the drinks to you and speeds the process up. Then, as the sun starts to dip below the horizon, the crew serve a glass of fizz to toast the sunset.

You pick up the Gansett boat from Bower’s Wharf and are quickly transported away from the cacophony of sounds on the Wharf onto the silence of the water – it was lovely to spot different types of boats sailing on by and listen to the live commentary which was informative and lighthearted. Our compère pointed out lighthouses, islands, and boats on the water, including a yacht reportedly costing $120 million moored in this deep marina.

We cruised under Newport Bridge which we had driven over earlier that day and caught the sunset dropping behind Goat Island Lighthouse which made for some fabulous photographs. I am recommending this for a perfectly lovely evening!

Visit the Newport Rhode Island Mansions

In the late 19th century, if you had benefitted financially from the great industrial expansion, then Newport became the place to show off your wealth by building a large mansion in which to ‘summer’ away from New York City. These Newport Rhode Island Mansions, or Gilded Age mansions, were referred to as ‘cottages’ despite their significant size.

A note on the term Gilded Age

Historians in the 1920s retrospectively applied the term Gilded Age to the period of rapid growth and expansion after the American Civil War – roughly from the late 1870s to late 1890s.

However, it was Mark Twain who first coined the phrased Gilded Age in 1873 in his book The Gilded Age – A Tale of Today.

Fellow author, Charles Dudley Warner, suggested that during ‘the promised golden age after the Civil War, serious social problems were masked by a thin gold gilding of economic expansion’ as the wealth became more concentrated in the hands of a few. Eventually there was a wider backlash about the wealth distribution and ‘summer cottages’ which fell out of fashion.

In addition, these large summer homes were too expensive to upkeep, so as family money dissipated over subsequent generations, many of the houses fell into disrepair and were closed or sold off to developers.

However, several key houses were bought, and are maintained, by the Preservation Society of Newport County. These include: The Elms, The Breakers, Marble House, Rosecliff, Chateau-sur-Mer, Kingscote, and Isaac Bell House.

Several of the mansions feature in the HBO Series The Gilded Age and there are posters as you walk around highlighting when a room has featured in a particular TV scene.

The Elms

The Elms was the summer residence of Mr & Mrs Edward Julius Berwind – Edward was a coal magnate from Philadelphia. The house was based on the design of Chateau d’Asmieres outside Paris and was completed in 1901 to the cost of $49 million (in today’s terms). It was saved by the Preservation Society just 3 weeks before destruction.

At the time of its construction, The Elms was thought to have been built too close to the road, Bellevue Avenue, with not enough garden at the front. However, once built, the house made an impact on passersby as its opulence could be ‘seen’ from the road, with its showstopper gardens saved for visitors at the back.

Each of the Newport Rhode Island Mansions had a housewarming party when completed. In 1901, for its housewarming party, The Elms was bedecked with rose trees, orchids, and lotus flowers, with trained monkeys entertaining guests on the lawns outside (no comment!). The gardens of The Elms, with its Weeping Beech trees and pathways lit by fairy lights, must have looked stunning!

The Elms has most of the classic hallmarks of a typical Gilded Mansion – steps leading up to a grand entrance onto a Ball Room (reception room), a formal drawing room, library, breakfast room, butler’s pantry with dumbwaiter, silver safe, main kitchen, and separate bedrooms for Mr and Mrs B.

Indeed, Mrs Berwind had the bigger bedroom as Mr Berwind would be in New York during the week, and Mrs Berwind was required to run the household from her room managing the servants and preparing for visitors and parties.

Audio App – we didn’t take a formal tour of The Elms, but rather used the free downloadable audio app to listen to information about the rooms which worked well.

The Breakers and Beneath the Breakers Tour

The Breakers is the grandest of the Newport Rhode Island Mansions (summer cottages), developed by American Architect Richard Morris Hunt in Italian Renaissance style for Cornelius II and Alice Vanderbuilt. He made his money from steamships and then railroads.

The original house was destroyed in a boiler fire in 1892 on a rare occasion when the family were in Newport out of season, around Thanksgiving when they were entertaining author Edith Wharton and her husband Teddy. As a result, when the house was rebuilt, Cornelius insisted on the new boiler room being built as far away from the house as possible.

Below the Breakers Tour – if you’re interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes to run a house as large as The Breakers, then book the Below the Breakers Tour. This starts in the Boiler Room, now on the perimeter of the grounds, and leads you through the service tunnel to the main house. It gives a very interesting insight into how they managed to build this giant of a house in only 2 years and 4 months.

Back in the main house, you can explore the over-the-top decoration and rooms. The highlights for me were the tiled Billiards Room (very pretty) and the Upper Loggia, a semi outdoor sitting room with views over the wild Atlantic Ocean.

The 4 bath taps: 2 for hot and fresh water, and 2 for hot and cold salt water.

Hike the Cliff Path

If you have time to spare and the weather is good, then plan to hike the 3.5-mile Cliff Path in front of the Newport Rhode Island Mansions. You can park at the 40 steps (Narragansett Avenue) and walk south past The Breakers and many others including:

Rosecliff (1905) – featured in the first Great Gatsby film (1974), High Society and True Lies.
The Marble House (1892) – you can’t miss it’s stunning Chinese Tea House at the end of the garden which Mrs Vanderbuilt (yes, another one) used for fund raising for women’s rights.

Finish at The Waves, walking up Ledger Road to catch the Trolley bus back up Bellevue Avenue to your car. The trolleys come every 20 minutes and cost $2 per person – cash only.

Note – only some of the houses are still clearly visible from the path, as some are now obscured by foliage or are undergoing refurbishment.

TIP – Look out for the QR Codes along the route which give you information about the Newport Rhode Island Mansions.

TIP 2 – Wear trainers with good grip for this walk as part of the walk is across the rocks. If the weather is wet, then it maybe slippy so be flexible about when you plan to complete the walk.

Drive the scenic Ocean Drive

To rest your legs, make the 10-mile scenic ocean drive around the coastline of Newport stopping at (or looking out for):

Fort Adams – the largest coastal fort in the USA and current venue for the Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival.
Hammersmith Farm – the childhood home of Jackie Onassis, and later home of the Kennedys. No longer open to the public.
Ocean Cliff Hotel – an exclusive hotel in one of the best spots in town. You can go for a drink on the laws in front of the hotel, even if you are not resident, for incredible ocean views.
Brenton Point Lighthouse – in Brenton Point State Park.

Explore Bellevue Avenue, Newport

Bellevue Avenue in Newport Rhode Island was once the desired address and is lined with many of the Newport Rhode Island Mansions. However, it offers several other places of interest as well:

The Redwood Library & Athenaeum

America’s first purpose-built library in 1875 and the oldest library in continuous operation in its original location on Bellevue Avenue.

Newport Art Museum

Not far from the Athenaeum is the Newport Art Gallery on Bellevue Avenue, housed in the historic John N.A. Griswold House, designed by renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt in 1864 (he of The Breakers fame). It has been open as an art gallery since 1912.

Pop into the International Tennis Hall of Fame

If sailing isn’t your sport, then Newport also caters to tennis lovers with the International Tennis Hall of Fame housed in the Newport Casino, first opened in 1880 as a social club (not a gambling establishment) for Newport’s Gilded Age summer elite.

The Newport Casino was the site of the first US Open Tennis Championship which was held there from 1881–1914.

Sadly, we arrived too early in the day to access the museum which opened at 10.00am, however the outdoor courts were open to wander around, with lots of rickety seating on the outdoor courts and a statue of British tennis player Fred Perry.

Audrain Auto Museum

Next to the International Tennis Hall of Fame is a small car showroom offering changing exhibitions of rare cars and vehicles. It had just opened with a Porsche exhibition when we visited. One of us visited, the other sat on a wall outside to have a rest!

Where to eat in Newport, RI

The Nitro Bar – my daughter picked this one up from Tik Tok, famed for its flavoured Matcha and lunch options. The queue at The Nitro Bar (404 Thames Street) was long, but the wait was worth it. Delicious blueberry matcha.

Luke’s Lobster Shack – if you want lunch on the go then pick up a Lobster or Crab sandwich from Luke’s Lobster between Bannister and Bowen’s Wharf. We had the crab sandwich – delicious.

A quick 2-minute detour from Luke’s will bring you to the first gas lamp to illuminate a city street at the junction of Thames Street and Pelham Street. Built by Thomas Melville to illuminate his home in 1803 (or 1805 – disputed), although someone else has the patent!

The Black Pearl – apparently The Black Pearl is an institution in Newport, known for its clam chowder. We enjoyed a good meal here although didn’t have the clam chowder – the mussels were delicious.

Clarke Cooke House – serving New England fayre, this restaurant looked very popular. We eyeballed it for next time…

Where to stay in Newport, Rhode Island

As we were booking our visit to Newport without much notice, we relied on Booking.com to find suitable options. This led us to the Guest House called Gilded, which ended up being perfect for 2 nights in the city – a warm welcome, comfortable beds, colourful and spacious rooms, a 24-hour tea and coffee station, and decent breakfast, all within a 10-minute stroll to the centre of town. Perfect if you are passing through….

When to go to Newport, Rhode Island

Summer city – Newport felt like a summer city, perhaps because of its boating opportunities and open-air restaurants on the wharfs. We arrived on a weekend in July, and it felt like city was in full swing. It did feel much busier than in Long Island, and notably noisier with Bachelorette and Stag groups singing in the bars on the Saturday night (Sunday was quieter).

Festivals – the Newport Folk Festival (of Dylan ‘going electric’ fame) takes place on the last weekend of July each year, and the Newport Jazz Festival takes place on the first weekend in August. Both attract big music names.

Bookings – if you do visit on a weekend in High Season, then thinking about booking activity tickets in advance. As Newport is America’s ‘Capital of Sailing’ we wanted to book a sunset trip on a sailing boat, but the sailboat options had all sold out.

Similarly, if you fancy taking one of the Newport Rhode Island Mansion tours, such as Beneath the Breakers then I would suggest booking that in advance as well as numbers are limited.

Final thoughts…

In the heat of the Summer, make sure to explore beyond the noisy bars of Bowman’s and Bannister’s Wharfs where you’ll find rows of quiet streets full of pretty, colourful, clapboard houses.

Whilst Newport was once the centre of the New England slave trade in the 18th century (not a good claim to fame), there didn’t seem to be much acknowledgement of this in the things that we saw. However, we didn’t visit Hunter House (1748) which the Preservation Society of Newport Country website claims acknowledges the labours of the enslaved.

As well as being a tourist hub, today Newport continues to be a playground for the elite with large houses and beautiful beaches – you don’t have to own a boat to live her, but it helps!

Next stop the Berkshires!

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