Sights in Newport
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Rough Point
In 1889, Frederick W Vanderbilt built Rough Point in the tradition of English manorial estates on a rocky piece of land jutting out into the ocean. Later purchased by the tobacco baron, James B Duke, the mansion fell into the hands of Duke’s only daughter, Doris (aged 13 years). She left the estate to the Newport Restoration Society upon her death. While the splendor of the grounds alone is worth the price of admission, Rough Point also houses much of Doris Duke’s impressive art holdings, including medieval tapestries, furniture owned by French emperors, Ming Dynasty ceramics, and paintings by Renoir and Van Dyck. These and other extraordinary objects formed the backdrop …
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Elms
Nearly identical to the Château d’Asnières built near Paris in 1750, the Elms offers a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour which will have you snaking through the basement operations, servants’ quarters and up onto the roof. Along the way you’ll learn about the activities of the army of servants and the architectural devices that kept them hidden from the view of those drinking port in the formal rooms. Taking the regular tour in addition to the behind-the-scenes variant will give you the best idea about how a Newport mansion functioned, though a double tour is exhausting. The place was designed by Horace Trumbauer in 1901. Of all the mansions, The Elms easily possess the most l…
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Wharves
Bannister's and Bowen's Wharves typify Newport's transformation from working city-by-the-sea to a tourist destination. While much of the experience of downtown and Thames St involves shopping and eating within a cobblestone context, it is at Bowen's Wharf that you'll feel commercialism most tangibly.
Fishing boats and pleasure vessels sit around the periphery of fudge shops, places selling sculpture made of shells, and lots of clothing stores (some local, some chain) all housed in an outdoor mall on a former wharf meant to blend into the old city by virtue of the liberal use of grey shingles. The shear number of people hanging out here lends it the air of excitement. Near…
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Newport Mansions
During the 19th century, the wealthiest New York bankers and business families chose Newport as their summer resort. This was pre-income-tax America, their fortunes were fabulous and their 'summer cottages' - actually mansions and palaces - were fabulous as well. Most Newport Mansions are on Bellevue Ave, and they frequently turn up as settings for films like The Great Gatsby and PBS series featuring actors with British accents. One of the best ways to see the mansions is by bicycle. Cruising along Bellevue Ave at a leisurely place allows you to enjoy the view of the grounds, explore side streets and paths, and ride right up to the mansion entrances without having to worr…
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The Breakers
Most magnificent of the Newport mansions is the Breakers, a 70-room Italian Renaissance megapalace inspired by 16th-century Genoese palazzos. Richard Morris Hunt did most of the design, though he imported craftsmen from around the world to perfect the sculptural and decorative programs. The building was completed in 1895 and sits next to Ochre Court at Ochre Point, on a supremely grand oceanside site. The furnishings, most made expressly for the Breakers, are all original. The content of the tour is well conceived and presented. Don’t miss the Children’s Cottage on the grounds.
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Isaac Bell House
Built in 1883, Isaac Bell House is one of the earliest Bellevue mansions. This subtly grand wooden home not only exemplifies 'shingle style' architecture (the thing is covered in graying cedar scales) but, if you compare it to the stone behemoths that would soon arrive in Newport, helps you to understand the changing forms of the city's grandest buildings.
While places like the Breakers overpower you with palatial spaces and over-the-top materials, this McKim, Mead and White structure feels more livable, graceful and American (most other mansions imitate European palaces).
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Ochre Court
Designed by Richard Morris Hunt and built in 1892, Ochre Court offers a grand view of the sea from its soaring three-story grand hallway. Elsewhere find a rainbow of stained glass, pointed arches, gargoyles and other emblems of an architecture inspired by a medieval (and mythical) French Gothic. Ochre Court is now the administration building of Salve Regina University, and as such provides an interesting example of the repurposing of a Newport mansion. You can visit much of the main floor anytime during opening hours. In summer there are guided tours.
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National Museum of American Illustration
Well worth the pain it takes to arrange a visit (one needs advance reservations for time-specific tours), this acclaimed museum features an impressive collection of Maxfield Parrish’s impossibly luminous works in color, NC Wyeth prints, Norman Rockwell’s nostalgia and the illustrations of other American graphic heavy weights. The goods are displayed within the palatial Vernon Court (yet another mansion, this one from 1898) set within Olmstead-designed grounds. No kids under 12.
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Whitehorne Museum
A few decades ago, colonial Newport was decaying and undervalued. Enter Doris Duke, who used her huge fortune to preserve many of the buildings that now attract people to the city. One of them is this Whitehorne, a Federal period estate, which visitors view through hourly guided tours. Rooms contain a collection of extraordinary furniture crafted by Newport’s famed cabinetmakers, including pieces by Goddard and Townsend.
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Old Stone Mill
A curious stone tower of uncertain provenance, some people believe the Old Stone Mill was built by Norse mariners before the voyages of Columbus, making it the oldest-existing structure in the US. Others say it’s a windmill’s base, built by an early governor of the colony. Whatever myth you believe, it is set in a grass park and enjoying a picnic in its shadow won’t hurt your day.
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Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House
For some serious timber framing, visit the oldest surviving house in Newport, Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, constructed circa 1697. Used as a residence by colonial governors and well-to-do residents, it’s now a museum of colonial Newport history operated by the Newport Historical Society. Tours depart from Colony House. It’s open other times by appointment.
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Museum
Want to look at some boats? Head inside this bad boy museum for a collection of model yachts, a handful of craft being restored by an onsite restoration school and pictures of the New York Yacht Club winning the America’s Cup regatta for 130 consecutive years until Australia ruined sporting history’s longest winning streak in 1983.
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Stable & Carriage House
The Breakers’ grand Stable & Carriage House, also designed by Hunt, is inland several blocks, on the west side of Bellevue Ave. It is now a museum of Vanderbilt family memorabilia, much of which provides a detailed look at the lifestyle of one of the USA’s wealthiest families at the turn of the century.
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Kingscote
An Elizabethan fantasy complete with Tiffany glass, Kingscote was Newport’s first ‘cottage’ strictly for summer use, designed by Richard Upjohn in 1841 for George Noble Jones of Savannah, Georgia. It was later bought by China-trade merchant William H King, who gave the house its name.
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Sachuest Beach
East of Easton’s Beach along Purgatory Rd lies Sachuest Beach, named for the nearby wildlife sanctuary. It’s prettier and cleaner than Easton’s Beach and has showers, a snack bar and a lovely setting, overlooked by the neo-Gothic tower of St George’s prep school.
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Trinity Church
The Trinity Church, on Queen Anne Sq, follows the design canon of Sir Christopher Wren’s Palladian churches in London. Built in 1725 and 1726, it has a fine wineglass-shaped pulpit, tall windows to let in light and traditional box pews to keep out drafty air.
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International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame, the world's largest tennis museum, is housed in the club where America's first tennis championships took place in 1881. For $80 you can jump into your whites and play a game on those classic grass courts.
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Brenton Point State Park
At the opposite end of the peninsula, Brenton Point State Park, due south of Fort Adams on Ocean Ave, is a prime place for standing on rocky outcroppings to watch the ocean crash about you and for flying kites.
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Gooseberry Beach
Other ‘pocket’ beaches exist along Ocean Ave, but most of these, such as Bailey’s Beach, are private. An exception is Gooseberry Beach, which has calm waters, white sand and a restaurant.
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Third Beach
Third Beach is a short distance east of Second Beach. Popular with families because it is protected from the open ocean, Third Beach also appeals to windsurfers because the water is calm and the winds steady.
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Little Traverse History Museum
In Petoskey, you can see the Hemingway collection at the Little Traverse History Museum, including rare 1st-edition books that the author autographed for a friend when he visited in 1947.
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Rosecliff
Rosecliff, a 1902 masterpiece of architect Stanford White, resembles the Grand Trianon at Versailles; its immense ballroom had a starring role in Robert Redford's Great Gatsby.
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Fort Adams State Park
Fort Adams State Park, site of the largest coastal fortification (c 1824) in the USA, borders Newport Harbor with expansive lawns ideal for picnicking. Swimming is okay at Fort Adams.
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Breakers
If you have time, make it to the Breakers, an extravagant 70-room, 1895 Italian Renaissance mega-palace built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, patriarch of America's richest family.
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Astors' Beechwood Mansion
Astors' Beechwood Mansion takes a spirited living-history approach with costumed actors portraying the Astor clan and servants who once lived here. Mystery murder nights too.
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