Marble House was the second of three Newport mansions we toured last December. It was stunning!
I liked these big twisty trees out front. I wonder how long they've been there and if they were there when William and Alva Vanderbilt and their children lived there (for only a few weeks a year!) in the late 1800s-1900s.
Not to state the obvious, but Marble House has a ton of marble in it! Several tons, actually!
This wreath was massive!
One very impressive dining room!
I liked this library room tucked into the back corner of the house. I found it very cozy (unlike most of the rest of the house!).
That ceiling! 😍
Front entryway of the house. The doors (not to mention the marble interior) look like they belong in a big bank or corporate building, not a summer "cottage"!
This "religious room" as I call it was really ornate and really cool. It felt like there was a church in the house.
The ceilings in these mansions make my jaw drop!
It's fun to imagine the balls and parties that took place here and to wonder about the actual lives of the people who attended them!
I think this was Alva's room. She was a battle-ax!
Marble House was Alva's husband's 39th birthday gift to her. I turned 39 this past summer and there is a severe dichotomy between what Alva got and what I got! 😂
Gorgeous workmanship!
This was poor Consuelo's room. I mean, obviously not financially poor, but poor in the sense that she was a slave to her mother's overbearing, selfish desire to have her marry a duke, which she did against her wishes. She loved someone else. 💔
The Commodore, the one who started the businesses that made the Vanderbilts so much money. He was William's grandfather.
So pretty!
I spy an owl! This was in one of the son's rooms.
Back stairs for the servants (and us).
This kitchen makes me think of Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey.
I wonder if this is from the time period of the Vanderbilts. Imagine the cooks and kitchen staff who worked here. They made these very cuts! (Theoretically.)
I loved the cloudy weather that day. It was very atmospheric!
I also love how the ocean was right at the back of the backyard.
Ending the visit where we started, with more of those cool old twisty trees!
I'm looking forward to reading some good books about this interesting little branch of the Vanderbilt family and their very grand summer cottage!
