The Stately World of Newport

Being fitted for a costume ball, Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse tries on a 19th
Century Gown long treasured in a trunk.

Harold Vanderbilt and guest Winthrop Aldrich look out to sea from the
fog-shrouded lawn of Vanderbilt's Newport mansion, Rock Cliff.

In a Newport mansion a lady stood stately and erect while her maid pinned her gown. On the lawn of a palatial Newport estate two yachtsmen gazed wistfully toward the sea. They were all anticipating the excitement and splendor that they and the famous resort once knew - and would never forget. In Newport's grandiose prime a half century ago a party wasn't really a party in one of the great marble homes 200 guests, attended by 100 knee-breeched footmen, sat down to dinner before solid-gold plates. The grandeur has simmered down since then, but enough of it remains so that, on the proper occasion, the elite can once again perform extravagantly.

     This week, such an occasion arises with the sailing of the America's Cup races off Newport's shores. Mansions maintained by nostalgic owners with skeleton staffs of four to eight servants will come alive with lights and polite revelry. In great houses that have been turned into museums there will be enormous receptions. Harold Vanderbilt, victorious skipper in the 1903 America's cup defense, will reign as the resort's patriarch. The younger New Guard of Newport will, for this occasion, join with the Old Guard in a collective effort to show when Newport decides to entertain is has no peer for pomp

          ~ LIFE Magazine, September 21, 1962. 

Click HERE to read the full article, which also includes pictures of many of the Newport socialites and cottages. 

Seafair - a.k.a "The Hurricane Hut"

'Seafair' - The V. Reed Cottage

In the 1930's, Verner Z. Reed Jr. (1900-1986); Vice-President of the Chase Manhattan Bank and later appointed Ambassador to Morocco by President Reagan; called upon British architect William Mackenzie to design for him and build an impressive mansion upon a monumental seaside plot of land. The cottage, once completed, was said to be the last of Newport's famed "cottages" built along the sea. 

After a series of massive hurricanes that hit the house ~ earning it the nickname "Hurricane Hut" ~ which did particular damage since the house sat jutting out, exposed to the sea. The house was sold, and later divided up into condominiums. In the 1940's, the home was rented out to William Van Alen, whose mother, Daisy Van Alen Bruguiere lived at 'Wakehurst' a few miles down. In 1945, a Hurricane hit the home as Van Alen and his family were evacuating. Eventually water struck the three Van Alen Rolls Royce, filled with Van Alen, his family and their servants, which were on their way to Van Alen's brother's place, 'Avalon', which was on higher ground. Three servants died in the incident, and soon after, Van Alen and his wife, Bessie, headed out for Philadelphia. 

After a wave of owners, a few more wave crashes, Seafair was finally purchased by Rick Bready, chairman of Nortek Inc. in Providence, RI. He and his wife occupied the estate for about four years. In 2013, the couple listed their high-price estate for $19 million. They also listed a separate condo on the property for $3 million. Check out the links below for more information on the listing. 

254 Ocean Av, Newport Rhode Island

Seafair - A Historic $19 Million-Dollar Waterfront Property in Newport, RI

Seafair - $19,000,000

SEAFAIR 


If you are interested in Newport and it's historic "cottages", or even have a general love for architecture and the Gilded Age, and have a Facebook, please ask to join my group, "Newport ~ Queen of Resorts" for plenty of information, floor plans, photographs and stories of Newport cottages and the people who lived in them. Please also give The Gilded Age Era's Facebook page a like, by clicking HERE, and showing us your support. To see photographs of many of the Gilded Age properties, including the Vanderbilt homes, Astor palaces, Widener estates and Rockefeller compounds, please visit my Pinterest account, by clicking HERE. 

Demolition of Inisfada

'Inisfada' Front facade. 

Today, December 5, 2013, demolition was officially begun of the historic 'Inisfada' estate on Long Island, which happens to be the 4th largest home built in the United States. Built between 1916 and 1920, the estate was constructed for Nicholas and Genevieve Brady, a wealthy Catholic couple. After Mr. Brady's death, the house was willed to Genevieve, who in turn gave it to the St. Ignatius, who used the residence as a retreat house. In 1936, the home served as the base for Pope Pius XII during his U.S. tour. 75 years later, the home was listed up for sale by the institution, who decided to sell the place after previously auctioning off several furniture pieces dating back to the Brady ownership. It was sold for $36 million in August of this year, and was rumored to be demolished. After a last-ditch attempt by preservationists, demolition crews finally showed up this morning, ready to begin. Already, the solarium and many exterior walls lay in a pile of rubble. Here are some links regarding the estate and the demolition. 

'Great Gatsby'-Era Retreat House Dismantling Begins

North Hills OK's Inisfada Demolition Permit

Inisfada Furnishings Net $51K At Auction

Inisfada Sold To Developers For $36.5M

Preservationists Try and Bar Demolition of 87-Room Mansion

Gold Coast Goodbye 

Kennedy Family - Book Recommendations!

"After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family"
by J. Randy Taraborrelli 

The Kennedy family is perhaps one of the most iconic and well-known families in America today. Their lives have been the subject of hundreds of articles, films, TV shows and books. Originally descended from farmer John Kennedy, the family first gained notoriety for Joseph "Joe" Kennedy, who was appointed U.S. Ambassador to England. Patriarch Joe and his wife Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (who would go on to outlive the majority of her family, dying at the age of 104 in 1995) gave birth to the most legendary of the Kennedy clan: JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Ted Kennedy. Then there were the glamourous Kennedy wives: most notably Jackie (d. 1994) and Ethel (-). Though JFK, his brothers and Jackie are dead, they continue to impact America and the world today (Most recently, the fiftieth anniversary of JFK's assassination.) The following is a list of great books I recommend about the Kennedy's and their influential lives. 

"Grace and Power: The Private World of The Kennedy White House"
by Sally Bedell Smith 

"These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie"
by Christopher Andersen 

"Capturing Camelot: Iconic Images of the Kennedys"
by Kitty Kelly 

"Portrait of Camelot: A Thousand Days In The Kennedy White House"
by Richard Reeves 

"Janet & Jackie: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis"
by Jan Pottker

Merrywood

'Merrywood': Circa 1920's. 

Overlooking the Potomac River, and located just a few miles away from George Washington's 'Mount Vernon', 'Merrywood' is one of the finest estates in Virginia, and is just northwest of Washington. Built around 1919, the 46-acre estate was purchased in the mid 1930's by Hugh D. Auchincloss II, who is most famous for being the step-father of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie, whose mother married Hughdie (as Auchincloss was called) when she was 13 years old, grew up at the estate, spending her free-time swimming, horseback-riding and playing tennis on the estate's grounds. Jackie's mother, Janet, was known for the series of lavish parties she hosted at the estate, earning the title Mistress of Merrywood. 

Jackie Kennedy with her mother, Janet Auchincloss, having tea with
one of Janet's many dogs on the grounds of 'Merrywood'. 

When not in Washington, the Auchincloss family spent time at their magical country estate in Newport, R.I., 'Hammersmith Farm', the last functioning farm in Newport. It was here that Janet and Hughdie would host Jackie's wedding to John F. Kennedy, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. Later, both 'Merrywood' and 'Hammersmith Farm' would serve as fundraising HeadQuarters for Kennedy's campaign for President. 

'Merrywood': Circa 1940's. 

With Kennedy's election as U. S. President, the couple was able to move out of 'Merrywood' and into The White House, though their visits to the estate were no less frequent! The Kennedy's visited 'Merrywood' so often, that it was officially given the code name "Hamlet" by the U.S. Secret Service. 

It was around this time, that Hughdie quietly listed 'Merrywood' for sale. With his once successful firm now taking huge losses, the financial burden of maintaining 'Merrywood' and 'Hammersmith Farm' was becoming too heavy for Hughdie. For years, he had been asking Janet to start economizing at 'Merrywood', which resulted in the layoff of many of the groundskeepers. Finally, in 1963, an offer was submitted for $650,000 (the estate was listed at $850,000). Hughdie accepted the offer, and with Janet purchased a four-story townhouse in Georgetown, a few miles down from The White House. 

John Dickerson, age 7, whose parents purchased 'Merrywood' in 1964. 

In 1964, 'Merrywood' was purchased by Wyatt and Nan Dickerson, who moved in with their son, John. In his book, "On Her Trail", John describes that  "before Barbara Walters, before Katie Couric, there was Nancy Dickerson. The first female member of the Washington TV news corps, Nancy was the only woman covering many of the most iconic events of the sixties. She was the first reporter to speak to President Kennedy after his inauguration and she was on the Mall with Martin Luther King Jr. during the march on Washington; she had dinner with LBJ the night after Kennedy was assassinated and got late-night calls from President Nixon. Ambitious, beautiful and smart, she dated senators and congressmen and got advice and accolades from Edward R. Murrow. She was one of President Johnson's favorite reporters, and he often greeted her on-camera with a familiar "Hello, Nancy." In the '60s Nancy and her husband Wyatt Dickerson were Washington's golden couple, and the capital's power brokers coveted invitations to swank dinners at their Merrywood estate on the Potomac." 

Wyatt and Nan Dickerson, pictured at 'Merrywood' during the happier
times of their marriage.

Wyatt and Nan divorced in 1981, and together they sold the place in 1984 for $4.25 million to Alan and Dianne Kay, a high-powered couple who used the home to fundraise for their numerous charities. In the 90's, the home played host to Michael Jackson, who appeared at the home for the Kay's fundraising drive for the Capital Children's Museum. The home was sold for $15 million in 1999, and again in 2005 it was sold for $24 million, this time to Steve Case of AOL. The estate beautiful estate remains in his ownership today. 

The Met Is Dead! Long Live The Met!

Lily Pons bows graciously onstage at her curtain call,
while at the Closing Gala of the Metropolitan Opera.

On April 16, 1966, over 3,000 people packed the gilded auditorium of the massive Metropolitan Opera House on Broadway for it's Farewell Gala. A line-up of the Met's finest operatic stars would be featured that night, with curtain calls from some of their oldest singers. The long-time patrons gathered in their lush, golden first-tier boxes, collectively known as "The Diamond Horseshoe", named in honor of the 200-stone diamond necklace so frequently worn by Caroline Astor, almost 70 years ago! 

The gilded auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera on the night of their
Farewell Gala. 

Many of the Met's oldest families were represented that night. Cornelius V. Whitney (whose grandfathers Cornelius Vanderbilt II and William C Whitney had helped find the Met) was present, along with his wife, Marylou. Another Met stalwart, Mrs. John Barry Ryan (whose father, Otto Kahn, had started looking for the Met's new home in 1908) was also present, though arrived late. 

Among the A-List notables in attendance were retired heavyweight champion Gene Tunney; former opera singer Rise Stevens; sportsman Ogden Phipps; Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy (mother of JFK); Mrs. August Belmont; Prince Michael and Princess Marina of Greece; Brooke Astor, a New York philanthropist;  Winthrop W. Aldrich;  Mrs. William C. Langley (Jane Pickens); Lewis W. Douglas, former Ambassador to the Court of St. James; Governor Walter J. Kohler Jr. of Wisconsin; and Mr. and Mrs. Henry duPont.  

With tickets costing $200 a head, the evening netted $292,000 for the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Company, which had taken over control of the Opera House in the 1940's from the wealthy families that owned private boxes. 

"I paid $200 for my seat, and I can't even get a program!!" one disgruntled man complained. 

To read my original post on the closing gala, which features photographs of the even, courtesy of LIFE Magazine, please click HERE.

To read the program of the farewell gala, which that disgruntled man can now read online, please click HERE.

Please also visit my Pinterest boards on the subject, by clicking HERE and HERE.

Also, please visit Gilded Age Era's Facebook Page and show your support by giving us a like. 

"Newport Today"

Laurence Cutler, pictured in the office of his Newport residence 'Vernon Court', 

which currently serves as the National Museum of American Illustration. The home was originally built in 1989 by architects Carrere and Hastings. (Photo: Nick Mele)  

Recently, the New York Social Diary wrote an article titled "Newport Today", which was a sequel to an article they had previously written about a year ago, titled "My Newport". Both articles feature photographs by Nick Mele, Sam Bolton and Alex Kendall. "My Newport" covers the old guard of Newport, whereas "Newport Today" gives us a peak into the younger generations of Newport. To read their article, "Newport Today", click HERE.  To read their prequel article, "My Newport", click HERE.