HBO’s Gilded Age Newport Mansion Tours
If you are a fan of the TV series ‘The Gilded Age,’ you will love these Newport Mansion tours thanks to their rigorous historical preservation. These mansions also served as a set for several of the TV series episodes.
The Gilded Age, which started in the 1870s and lasted for over 4 decades, was a time of unprecedented development in American history. Increasing industrialization and commerce, along with the absence of income tax, gave birth to titles like Rockefeller, Carnegie, Ford, Morgan, and Vanderbilt. Massive fortunes were amassed and spent on luxurious lifestyles and palace-like mansions.
The epicenter of the Gilded Age spectacle was at the magnificent summer homes of the Newport mansions, where emerging millionaires competed to outshine one another at athletic events, concerts, carriage parades, banquets, balls, and other forms of entertainment. Rosecliff, The Elms, Marble House, and The Breakers were built at the height of the Gilded Age and are examples of homes that show their owners’ fixation with social standing and imitation of European royalty.
These well-known and wealthy families built most of their palace mansions in New York City, particularly on Fifth Avenue, during this economic boom. However, only a small number of homes are still standing, with most of the Newport estates being converted into luxury hotels where you can stay and be transported to the Gilded Era. The hotels offer an opportunity to admire the luxurious interiors, stay cooped up in chic rooms, and enjoy the panoramic view of the city’s famed Cliff Walk.
Following are a few of the Newport mansions still standing for you to spend a few nights in and feel like a part of the Gilded Age cast and crew.
The Cliffside Inn
The Cliffside Inn, the 16-room Victorian house is situated on Seaview Avenue on the city’s prized Cliff Walk with views of Easton Bay. Thomas Swan, the governor of Maryland, built the mansion before moving in. It is referred to as the Swan Villa still by the old households living in the area. Beatrice Turner, who was a well-known painter, later lived in the house until 1948, after which the mansion was transformed into a respected school for boys only, St. George’s School.
Hotel Viking
If there’s a Newport mansion that stands out from the rest, it is Hotel Viking, a brick building in the colonial style known locally as “the people’s hotel.” It was actually constructed as a hotel during the 1920s, not as a private residence. It immediately sold out as soon as the doors opened to out-of-town visitors.
Johnny Cash also stayed in one of the rooms of this extraordinary hotel.
The Chanler
In 1870, at the beginning of the Gilded Age, John Winthrop Chanler, who was a New York congressman, began construction on his now-famous residence on the outskirts of Easton Bay. Three years later, the “cottage,” as he referred to it, was completely finished and served as the ideal getaway for him and Margaret Astor Ward, his wife.
The Chandlers subsequently sold the house, as is customary for the world’s richest people, and it was converted into a historical museum, the summer residence of Bishop Francis Patrick Keough, the Tole Thorpe School for Girls, and even a housing complex for naval personnel.
But the marvel of architecture became a 30-room hotel just after the Second World War.
Hire a Tour Guide For HBO Gilded Age Newport Mansion Tours
Apart from the fascinating and luxurious hotels, the mansions that are still standing include The Marble House, The Beakers Mansion, and the legendary Bellevue Avenue. If you are a history fan, you can book a trolley tour to explore these magnificent mansions, admire the intricate architecture and luxurious interiors, and feel transported to the most splendid economic growth times in America.
With Viking Tours, you can see and experience an amazing era in American history and might even see the sets where our favorite TV series, The Gilded Age, was filmed.
