The Pringle Plan: The Breakers

Here is an entrance gate that says, "We have money." Sunday's daytrip was to The Breakers, former Newport, R.I. "cottage" of Cornelius II and Alice Vanderbilt. Built between 1893-1895, architect Richard Morris Hunt created the 70-room cottage, of 138,300 square feet, based on the Italian Renaissance palaces in Genoa and the Italian countryside.

Entrance Gate to The Breakers

Entry façade

On entering The Breakers, I found my eyes were almost always looking up. Room after grand room has the most spectacular ceilings, with workmanship and artistry beyond compare. From the ceilings, hang chandeliers taller than I am.

Great Hall ceiling detail

One of four immense chandeliers hanging in the Great Hall

Today The Breakers is owned by The Preservation Society of Newport County. Tourists follow signs on a self-guided tour.

The Grand Staircase hides a unique feature...

a grotto underneath the stairs

Fireplace opposite the staircase in the Great Hall

The fireplaces, though grand, were never used as this was merely the Vanderbilt's "summer cottage."

Fireplace in the Dining Room

Chandelier in Dining Room

Dining Room ceiling detail

After dining together, guests separated by gender. Men to the billiards room to smoke and gamble, women to a more feminine room for tea and gossip.

Billiards Room Fireplace

Billiard Room mosaic ceiling detail, made from thousands of hand-cut marble tiles

The Billiard Room was inspired by Roman baths

Dolphin mosaic represents the ancient symbol of hospitality

French design in the Morning Room

After awhile, I started to lose track of which room we were in, however the ceilings, fireplaces, and high-level of decorative detail continued to impress.

Library

Upstairs, the bedrooms are less ornate, creating a sense of calm and elegance. The bathrooms were the most modern and luxurious of the day. One draw back to the marble baths is the water does not stay warm next to the cold marble. So, you have to pre-heat with hot water, drain, then fill again with your hot bathwater (fresh or salt).

This was not my first visit to The Breakers. I was a wide-eyed teen in the mid 1970's when I first saw this tapestry. Just a bit larger and more detailed than the needlepoints, crewel work, and cross stitch patterns I was working on in those days.

Today a photographic replica hangs in place of the 17th century Dutch tapestry now in conservation

Despite the beautiful interior, the four of us agreed our favorite place was outside on the Upper Loggia, a fancy unscreened porch, with wonderful views