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A never-seen-by-the-public area of the iconic Breakers mansion will open this month
Tours begin on June 24.
Newport’s iconic Breakers mansion is inviting guests into never-before-seen areas of the opulent property during a new tour launching this month.
The third-floor Vanderbilt family space, previously unavailable for viewing during the mansion’s 129-year history, will open June 24 for a limited, guided tour of its bedrooms, bathrooms, and recreational spaces. The Breakers, built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1895, is the flagship of the Newport Mansions and a National Historic Landmark.
“The third floor of The Breakers is a historically significant space,” said Trudy Coxe, CEO and Executive Director of The Preservation Society of Newport County, which has owned The Breakers since 1972, in a statement. “This new tour of private living quarters never seen by the public allows us to provide a more complete story – not only of this iconic property, but also of the family who built it and lived there for generations.”
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On the tour, visitors will witness the preservation work being done on the rooms. For example, guests can compare floors and walls that have been restored and also left untouched. Tours will also note how the decor from the 1890s, 1940s, and beyond demonstrates the family’s changing uses of the third floor through the decades.
“Work on this space is ongoing, so this will be an evolving experience for visitors,” said Leslie B. Jones, director of museum affairs and chief curator for the Preservation Society, in a statement. “This early incarnation of the tour offers an opportunity to witness the process of preservation. How are decisions made, what applications are best in this case, and why? We are excited to share our approach to this unique project while introducing this area of The Breakers to the public for the first time.”
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Tours of this newly opened space will be offered daily at 3:30 p.m.
The Breakers, which has hosted presidents and royalty over the past century, is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year, according to the society.
Tickets are available at www.NewportMansions.org.
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