Never a Dull Moment in Newport!

Mrs Robert R Young and Mrs John Nicholas Brown at the Newport Music Festival 

A wonderful newspaper article about Newport. It's main 

topic is over the Newport Music Festival and Breakers Fundraising

ball. It also mentions several of the up coming galas at 

the grand cottages. In it; Mrs Jane Langley has just bought

'Berkeley Villa' and also just arrived from showing her

paintings in Palm Beach. Harvey Firestone Jr has also bought 

a house in Newport, once owned by the Drexel family. Mr and Mrs John R

Drexel make an appearance at the opening of the Music Festival with

their daughter Noreen. 12 or more of Newport's cottages have been 

owned at some time by a member of the Drexel family, including

'Fairolme', owned by Mrs Robert R Young, whose husband

owned the New York Central. Mrs John Nicholas Brown, who is

president of the festival and cousin of Mrs Drexel, greets guests as they enter 

the hall of the 'Breakers'. Mrs Auchincloss serves as co-chairwoman of 

a music gala. 

Mr and Mrs John R Drexel III with their daughter Noreen were guests at the Music Festival 

A concert in the ballroom of 'Marble House', one of the ocean cottages built by Mr and Mrs Willie K  Vanderbilt 

Click HERE For The Link 

The James Hazen Hyde Ball

James Hazen Hyde's grand party he held in the ballroom of Sherry's in 1905 
was, and still is today, considered amongst the most lavish and expensive parties
ever held in the whole universe! The Equitable Assurance Society of New York 
millionaire invited everyone who was anyone to the magnificent event. Attired
in his dark-green formal attire of the Coaching Club, he greeted his 600 guests
who danced the night the night away in the two ballrooms at Sherry's. The $200,000
ball included hundreds of bottles of champagne and a play which Hyde had 
specially commissioned. 

Guests at the Hyde Ball; At the far right is Mrs Stuyvesant "Mamie" Fish; the white haired man is Stanford White. 

The grand ball was the talk of society for months. Costumed were commissioned 
for thousands of dollars; family jewels and heirloom pieces were pulled out from
vaults; wigs were purchased and powdered; carriages and other luxury means of
transport were bought just for the occasion. The two ballrooms at Sherry's were
decked out magnificent gilded decorations and period furniture. 

Though the ball was grand and amazing, securing Hyde's position in society,
he was never the same. A lawsuit from the Equitable Society, who were
suing him because of a rumor that he had used company funds to pay for 
the ball, caused him to flee to Paris. Shortly afterwards they found out that
he had payed for the night out of his own pocketbook. He returned in 1941 to
live in a splendid penthouse at the Savoy-Plaza on Fifth Avenue for the rest of his life,
dying in 1959. 

'Avalon', Newport. RI

In the early 1950's, James 'Jimmy' Van Alen, who had summered in Newport since birth, and his wife Candace 'Candy' Van Alen purchased a historic looking estate spread out along Ocean Avenue, called 'Avalon'. The estate had originally been built in 1906 by Grosvenor Atterbury for Edward S. Rawson, who expanded the Mediterranean villa in 1917. He sold the 34-acre estate in 1920 to Vera S. Cushman of New York ~ one of the early leaders of the YWCA(Young Women's Christian Association. In 1952, the Van Alens purchased 'Avalon' from the Cushman Family. 

Jimmy and Candy were hopelessly in Love, being married for 43 years

Candy was one of Newport's most outspoken socialites, it was her idea that Jimmy find a Tennis Hall of Fame

Jimmy always admired Tennis, playing the game as a boy on the tennis courts at 'Wakehurst'

Twelve years after purchasing 'Avalon', the Van Alens purchased the next door old 'Wrentham Estate', a stone and shingled house designed by Richard Morris Hunt, for $85,000 and turned the land surrounding the house into a gaming preserve for his hunting guests. Shortly after they
added a guest wing to house. opposite the ballroom. Soon after this, Jimmy was elected as President of the Newport Casino, which was literally a dump. He and Candy purchased the house, completely restored it, and turned it into the brand new International Tennis Hall of Fame. 

The International Tennis Hall of Fame, which helped to preserve the Newport Casino, all thanks to Jimmy

Jimmy and Candy were perfect for each other; they both lived in the moment, both loved Newport, both were energetic; smart; they shared a love of writing; good times; and adventure. Surprisingly Candy, unlike Jimmy's first wife Eleanor, got along with Jimmy's wife, Mrs Louis Bruguiere, Newport's reigning dowager matron. Frequently, Candy was invited by Mrs Bruguiere to co-host with her at 'Wakehurst' or at the New York townhouse. 

Mrs Louis Bruguiere, 'Daisy', the Dowager Queen of Newport's 'Old Guard'

Hitting the Van Alens like a bullet, In early December of 1976, as they were returning from Madrid, a fire started at Avalon. Sally Rodrigues, the caretaker, saw lights flickering off and on around in the mansion and figured that a burglar had tripped the alarm. As she rushed toward the house with her shotgun, she saw smoke bursting out from the garage. Grabbing her two year old daughter, she rushed to a neighbors house and called the Fire Department. When they arrived, the house was engulfed in flames. Eileen Slocum, one of the Van Alens' closest personal friends, was returning from Providence when she heard the fire alarms. She called the fire department and found out it was 'Avalon'. Knowning many of the Van Alens' most prized possessions were in the house, Slocum immediately flagged down a fire truck. "I hopped onto the fire engine and said, "Take me to the front door ~ there is a a beautiful set of china just inside!". By the time she got there, the home was almost unrecognizable. Slocum and the firemen spent the next hour and half pulling out what furniture and artifacts they could. 

Eileen Slocum, on of the Van Alens' closest personal friends, was largely responsible for saving
the Van Alens collection of artwork and antiques

Luckily, most of the ground floor rooms were still intact, and the Van Alen decided to build a new 'Avalon' around the rooms, making it a very spacious, albeit a much less attractive, mansion.

Candy giving the giving the golden trophy to the tennis match winners

The Van Alens continued to live at 'Avalon' throughout their life. In 1991, Jimmy, who was 
practically blind, accidentally stepped off his bedroom balcony onto the gravel driveway and died while recovering in the hospital. Candy continued summering at 'Avalon', spending her winters at the Van Alen estate 'Penny Pond' on Long Island. In 1992, she had the Van Alen Room dedicated at the Tennis Hall of Fame in honor of her husband. 

Candy at The Van Alen Room Dedication

In 2002, Candy died. 'Penny Pond' was subdivided and demolished. 'Avalon' was sold four years later for $10.4 million, the highest sale in Newport. The home was demolished shortly afterwards. 

The Last Aristocrats

The Last Aristocrats 

By "aristocrats", I do not simple mean rich people. I mean people who are masters of the

art of retention - people who pass on their china with a surname, who have oil paintings of their

ancestors usually and middle initials always. 

Click HERE To Read More

'Beaulieu'

Of all the homes in Newport still in private hands, 'Beaulieu' is amongst the most famous. Presently the year-round residence of Ruth B. Wheeler, the home has a rich and interesting history, being home to not only Astors and Vanderbilts, but also the scene of hundreds of lavish 

parties and events. 

Ruth Buchanan Wheeler, one of Newport's most outspoken matrons, is famous for her Lunch parties

Photo: Nick Mele

First coming to Newport in 1960, They quickly decided they wanted to live here

Ruth and her first husband Wiley T. Buchanan, who was serving as President Eisenhower's Chief of Protocol , first came to Newport 1960, coming with President Eisenhower who summered there, first at the Naval Base and later at the 'Eisenhower House'. They were staying with friends at 'Clarendon Court' when they decided to take a walk along the Cliff Walk. Soon they came upon a decaying estate next door, which had been unseen by them due to the large, overgrown grass and forest of trees surrounding it. The windows were smashed in, the porched gone, graffiti all along the walls the gardens infested with weeds, the home crawling with bugs and rats. The interior was destroyed and had had severe water damage, so bad it looked like there had been a fire. That home was 'Beaulieu'.

Wiley was determined to save the home, which he shortly after bought for around $100,000.

Within a year, the home was as gorgeous as ever. The Buchanans had replaced the porch, added a kitchen, restored all the rooms with french antique panelling and fixtures, rewired the house with electricity, replaced all the windows, restored the gardens, fixed the roof, fixed the plumbing and painted the exterior. They hired legendary designer Valerian Rybar to decorate the interior. Brought in a team of 13 gardeners to maintain the grounds and an additional 15 servants to work inside. Extended the garage and greenhouse. They brought 'Beaulieu' back to life.

Life at 'Beaulieu' with the Buchanans was formal, yet cozy

Ruth Buchanan, later Wheeler with marriage to Ed Wheeler after remaining a widow for more than a decade, is now in her 90's

Today, Ruth lives alone in her elegant home. Visited by family and friends, her newest thing is

to host Sunday luncheons. At 'Beaulieu' the work is never done, as Ruth comments "We are always having to replace something". Yet despite the tremendous amount of work it takes, 'Beaulieu' still remains one of Newport's finest private estates.

Making the Mummies Dance

The Metropolitan Museum of Art would not be what it is today if it wasn't for Thomas Hoving. The son of Walter Hoving, director of Tiffany & Co., and Mary O. Field, his step mother Jane Pickford Hoving later was the Republican challenger against Ed Koch for the US Senate from New York. He recounts his fabulous tales as director of the Met Museum in his memoir 'Making The Mummies Dance: Inside The Metropolitan Museum of Art' 

Hoving With His Latest Acquisition 

To see this book on Amazon, click HERE.

'Clarendon Court'

'Clarendon Court', Newport RI. Built by Horace Trumbauer. In the 1970's

it was the home of Martha Crawford Von Bulow, known as 'Sunny', whose

estranged husband famously tried to poison her, which forced her into a coma. 

Sunny managed to live into her 70's, dying in 2008, still her in sleeping-beauty 

coma. Click HERE and HERE For more