John W. Corbett — The Preservation Society of Newport County
I’ve toured 8 historic Gilded Age mansions. Here are the most extravagant displays of wealth I’ve seen.
September 6, 20240
The purple marble walls in the dining room were created from single slabs cut in half lengthwise in a process called bookmatching.
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The chairs were made of bronze and gilded with gold. The design was inspired by King Louis XIV of France’s dining-room chairs.
Alva Vanderbilt purchased an entire art collection as a set to furnish their “Gothic Room.”
The Preservation Society of Newport County
The Grand Salon, also known as the Gold Room, functioned as the Vanderbilts’ ballroom where they hosted lavish parties and balls.
In addition to importing marble and furniture from abroad, the Vanderbilts also planted European copper beech trees on the grounds.
Dave Hansen – The Preservation Society of Newport County
Oelrichs’ father, James Fair, discovered the largest lode of silver ore in the US and became known as the “Bonanza King.”
Oelrichs and her husband, Hermann Oelrichs, spent $2.5 million building was modeled after an 18th-century French château named Chateau D’Asnieres and built on a 10-acre estate.
The Elms featured a conservatory, an indoor garden escape with a fountain and French statues.
Gavin Ashworth — The Preservation Society of Newport County
The paintings showed scenes from battles led by Roman general Scipio Africanus. The dining room also featured a gilded ceiling.
The Berwinds devoted their breakfast room to displaying decorative panels from 18th-century China.
Gavin Ashworth — The Preservation Society of Newport County
William Shepard Wetmore made his fortune as a merchant importing goods from China and built the first version of in 1842. It was then bought by a merchant and inventor named George Merritt. Jay Gould, a railroad tycoon who was one of the wealthiest men in the Gilded Age, purchased the property from the Merritt family.
The walls in the entrance hall looked like marble but were actually handpainted plaster — an unlikely symbol of wealth.
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The walls were stenciled by hand to look like they were covered in leather wallpaper, and the columns on the fireplace were painted to match the real red-grain marble.
Jay Gould’s daughter, Helen Gould, built a bowling alley on the grounds of Lyndhurst Mansion in 1894.
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Staatsburgh was completed in 1896 and spans 30,000 square feet.
Around 95% of the furniture, artwork, and other items on display are authentic to the home and the Mills family.
At Staatsburgh, the dining room floor was made of 1-inch-thick Vermont marble to quiet the sounds of the kitchen below.
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The urns were the oldest artifacts in the room.
Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt built their 54-room mansion in Hyde Park, New York, in 1898.
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The carpet measured 20 by 40 feet and was over 400 years old.
The railing of the grand staircase was upholstered with velvet.
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Wealthy members of Gilded Age society thought of themselves as America’s royalty and decorated their homes accordingly.
I haven’t been to much of Europe, but now that I’ve visited these eight mansions, I have a pretty good sense of what it would be like to tour a French palace or Venetian art museum.