25 Most Unbelievable NEWPORT MANSIONS
Newport! A place known as the sailing capital of the world, a destination for lavish iconic estates, and one that has always played host to some pretty big money!
Today, we are taking you to Newport, RI. A city which may well belong to the tiniest state in the country, but don’t ever let that fool you!
Located on the southern tip of Rhode Island’s Aquidneck Island, this seaside escape played a major role in past ages as the place where American aristocracy would spend their summers.
Recognized as America’s first resort, it was a massive haven for all types of mansions and “summer cottages” from the Victorian era, to the Gilded Age, well into the roaring twenties.
Today, you will find much of Newport’s historic mansions still standing. And if you’ve got a few minutes to spare, you can come along with us on our tour of the most memorable, most outstanding mansions in this most opulent city.
Our tour will take you down its iconic Cliff Walk, then up its posh Bellevue Ave, and to a few random spots we bet you didn’t even know about.
So without further ado, here are the 25 most unbelievable Newport mansions!
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So you plan on visiting some of these house museums, do you? Awesome!
But before you head out that door, do make it a point to visit each venue’s website for more specific information on how and when you can visit.
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25 Most Unbelievable NEWPORT MANSIONS
• 25 Most Unbelievable N...
So you plan on visiting some of these house museums, do you? Awesome! But before you head out that door, do make it a point to visit each venue’s website for more specific information on how and when you can visit.
Doris Duke began preserving all the Colonial homes in Newport after the tragic incident with her car. I work for the Preservation Society of Newport County County at The Breaker’s in the 1980’s. I also worked at the Astor Estate Beachwood as an actress who gave tours through the lovely estate. I portrayed The Countess Inverness. Newport, Rhode Island is the most magical place that I have ever lived. Newport has never left me.
Newport seems to have that effect on most. Thank you for sharing!
Many, many of these mansions had been completely abandoned by the 1960's. We used to walk freely through them in the late 1960's. Nice to see many have been restored and preserved.
I had been told that the Tinney family paid a ridiculously low amount for Belcourt for this reason, and this is also the reason Beacon Hill was able to be torched.
Seaview Terrace was used as the exteriors of the fictional Collinwood Collins family home on the 1966 to 1971 soap opera Dark Shadows.
Did you get a souvenir? I get a rock from every where I visit. I choose one I can write on with permanent marker so I never forget.
Showing the locations of these beautiful homes on the map was very helpful. Lovely tour - thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you too!
I spent two weeks at Salve University for a mathematics project funded by the Chicago Mathematics Institute. It was magical. We had classes in these mansions. The walk to class was a beautiful journey within itself along the scenic Cliff Walk. Our dormitory was in one the mansions as well. As an educator, I must say it was the most unbelievable experience I've ever had! We were fed at student cafeteria and the food was delicious every single day. They even attempted to make us grits on the last day for breakfast since many of the teachers were Southern. So thoughtful. We also had a final dinner together at one the mansions....the one where True Lies was filmed! We stood on the outside deck...I know there is a fancy name for it other than deck...we had chefs cooking on grills as we viewed the cliffs and as the ocean splashed on the rocks below. Non in attendance didn't know that we were in a unbelievable moment in time for simple educators....it was the conference of a lifetime!!! Melinda Lawley
Yes, Newport usually has that effect on people. Magical is the perfect word used to describe the area and vibe. It always feels as if you’re transported to another world. Thank you for sharing!
I have 2 daughters that attended/attend Salve University. A wonderful school in a beautiful location.
None and "an unbelievable moment"
How many Yankees pulled out the sugar?? Lol SALT, PEPPER, BUTTER ..mu-wah(chefs kiss). Even better with about a dozen small cooked shrimp added right before serving. Sauteed them with garlic, butter, pepper. Deglaze skillet with small amount of white wine and serve over the grits like a topping or just stir it in.
Great memories
For me, the Elms exemplifies the most refined elegance and graceful beauty of all the Newport mansions and my favorite.
It's been a few years since I've visited Newport, and The Elms always stands out in my mind for its magnificence.
Yes, love The Elms! As a guide I used to love going arriving before the tour guests arrived and taking my own tour of the new beautiful flowers arrangements displayed or refreshed every day! I felt a bit like Miss Berwind!! 😊
Just returned from Newport yesterday. And I agree, I thought the Elms was the the best of the mansions. We took the servants tour of the Elms and it was amazing. Highly recommend.
When I toured Newport, my favorites were The Elms, The Breakers and Marble House. Yep, I like over the top 😊
My Son received the National Sportsmanship Award at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. We went to a dinner at The Breakers. All the tennis greats were there…Edberg, McEnroe, Agassi, Graf, and even Price Albert of Monaco! It was an evening never to forget!!
Great information! I’m a former guide at The Breakers!
Thanks for tuning in!
My pleasure! Can’t wait for HBO’s The Gilded Age to return! 😊
I lived in Newport, RI when I was a kid. We lived on a small Navy base surrounded by these amazing mansions. I always wanted to be able to go back and afford one.
I grew up in Miramar. We could have been friends lol
I was only 9 or 10 back in the early 60's when my parents took me on the tour of The Breakers. I remember it to this day. 🤪
You did such a beautiful job with this video. Thank you so much. Very grateful.
Thank you for the tour. Well shot, nimbly edited and loaded with historic references. Excellent!👍🇨🇦
I enjoy your KZhead videos. You mention that several of these “cottages” are available for tours year round. We were there in Oct. 2022 and a number of them were closed for the season. Marble House for one. Tourists should be advised to check online or by phone before making definite plans.
Thanks for the info! We’ve included in the show notes to always check the venue’s website before heading out.
Excellent video. Thank you.
Very informative. Thanks.
#7 Mansion - nevermind building the Mansion in 1907 but the fact that it was actually 'moved' from Washington to Newport is unimaginable. All these Mansions are absolutely stunning and the craftsmanship that's gone into them is absolutely incredible.
I enjoyed this immensely! Thank you! My favorite, without question, is 'Rosecliff'! I am so glad that the Preservation Society of Newport County has acquired so many of these historic and legendary properties. Hopefully, the Society will be able to acquire even more properties as they become available.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching!
I never knew how amazing Newport was. Will absolutely have to plan a visit to see as many of these houses as possible
Oh, how I love Newport! Some of my favorite memories include the wharf and the “Awful-Awful”
I toured the breakers a few years ago. Also toured one with my elementary school but I have vague memories of my childhood. Rhode Island has such rich history for such a tiny state.
Always wondered what happened to Sunny Von Bulow’s manse Clarendon Court. Doris Duke’s place, Rough Point & Sea View Terrace aka Collingswood. The Dark Shadows manse. Belcourt too. Thanks 👋
Thanks for tuning in!
I can't believe you didn't mention that Seaview Terrace was used as the spooky Collinswood mansion in the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.
He did ... Carey mansion is Seaview. The one moved from D.C. to newport
Yes, we saw it last year from the muddy back delivery road and took photos of the same view that is in the opening tableau of Dark Shadows. It was also not mentioned that it is now a girl's school.
@@tomsparks6099 Is it a school again? I know it sold recently.
@@dieselXJ But he didn't point out that the exterior was used as the Collinwood Mansion for the soap opera Dark Shadows. Really important to those of us who rushed home from school every day to see what Barnabas was up to. ;o)
Yes, my thought, too! To many of us who were just kids at that time, who would hurry home from school to watch the show, that beautiful house will always be Collinwood.
I just ushered for the Nutcracker at Rosecliff a week and a half ago. It was such an amazing experience and I felt like I was back in the gilded ages!
Thanks for sharing!!
The now defunct Boston Philharmonia performed in the ballroom once. The audience was all in tuxedo and evening gowns; quite an experience.
Just returned from Newport yesterday, and we were frankly underwhelmed by Rosecliff. The entire second floor has been turned into a business, mainly wedding venues, and was not worth touring the first floor however, it was worth seeing.
This was fantastic. 💫
Thanks for watching!
Great video! You could easily do a video on the many mansions that have been destroyed in Newport. As beautiful as it is now they were twice as many incredible estates.
Jay Leno's was my favorite with the stunning views... Jay showcased this in another video... well done Schmancy!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
I was hoping you'd mention Hammersmith Farm, though not opulent and probably still a private residence. I was lucky enough to tour there, and loved being able to see a part of the Kennedy history. I love Newport and the Doris Duke mansion is still on my bucket list.
In the 1960 I visited Belcourt castle and still remember it to this day. It definitely makes a lasting impression. It has hidden doors in many of the rooms leading to rooms where the family use to live. I watched a family member come through one of the secret doors in the wall. There is a glass walled hall where you can imagine couples waltzing to Vienna waltzes. If possible view the castle.
Sounds amazing. Thank you for sharing!
I was there this past June, I happen to be the only one that's why I got my own private tour with a guide. It's absolutely beautiful! I think my favorite part of the house what's the part with this big beautiful chandelier. It's also where the carriages used to enter from the driveway and then out a huge door to where they were kept. I've been to six of the mansions on this list, my favorite so far has been the Elms
Too bad you couldn’t include Hammersmith Farm, the home of Jacquline Bouvier, wife of John F Kennedy in your survey.
Thanks for watching! Jackie had too many summer residences to count. We also didn’t want to go beyond 25.
Hammersmith Farm is now under private ownership
HERE'S no Mr Kennedy Was no okay?
BRAVO!!!!! Beautifully done. Thank you 😊
Thank you! Cheers!
Being a Graduate of RWU in Bristol RI,I know Newport well. I was a Theatrical Tour Guide at BEECHWOOD the Summer of '83. It was magic. Americas Cup Races (where I met Prince Andrew),the Von Bulow events, and mucj more. We lived at Beechwood on the 3rd floor. Just such a great place! Fact: Being a Naval Community...when seeing a movie at the movie theatre the play the National Anthem b4 the Movie!
Sounds like it was an amazing time to be in Newport! Thank you for sharing!
Seaview Terrace is my favorite. What I wouldn’t give to tour it.
Stunning. I definitely need to visit East Coast more often. Your videos are gorgeous
Thank you so much!
That was fantastic!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Thank you very much for this wonderful and most informative tour. (Just a small suggestion - I found the background music a little incongruous with the subject matter. Perhaps something less techo/mechanical and fast-paced might have set a more appropriate mood?).
thanks for sharing
Love your videos thank you
Thanks for watching!
Seaview Terrace was called Collinwood in the show Dark Shadows.
In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if all these homes were were haunted!😬 So much history.
That's what I'm counting on! I'll be bringing my Spirit Box!
The tea house at Marble House is now open to the public as a cafe.
I lived in Newport, Rhode Island during the 1980s. It was my own magical island. I enjoyed working at The Breakers and also at Beachwood. I attended Salve Regina ~ The Newport College. It was a private girls college back then. Now it has graduated into a university.
I have always wanted to visit Newport, just haven’t made it up the east coast that far. I could live in #6 and in #23. I know these were built to “one up” the other unbelievably riche neighborhoods, but who needs 40,000 square foot and 20+ bedrooms? Incredible homes.
Rosecliff, Marble House and The Elms are my favourites.
Thanks, nice video.
Glad you liked it! Thank you too!
Crazy how many of these properties were built to match many of the grand estates in Europe and their families can't afford them on both sides of the pond.
If it wasn't for those pesky taxes. ;)
My favorites are Seaview, The Breakers, and Marble House, of the ones that I can remember.
Mr. Leno is definitely living well in that monster.. what a great deal he got on that beauty.
Gorgeous setup!
Glad you like it!
all the mansions are beautiful, but Seafair by the sea is my all time favorite, surrounded by water on three sides and large enough for a large family or for small family with visiting relatives and good friends to share
I believe that’s the Jay Leno mansion. Thanks for watching!
I visited the Breakers...it was truly magical...at the top of the stairs I gazed over the balcony and lost myself in a make believe ball ...the beautiful ballgowns with tiny waists...the gentlemen spinning them in their black tails....I longed to go downstairs and join in
You did a great job on the video. Make more.
Thank you. More to come!
I had three Navy temporary duty assignments in Newport, during one of them I decided I would tour one mansion. I chose Rosecliff.
Would have liked if Vinland history included that it was sold by Miss Lorillard to Hamilton and Florence Twolmby, who enlarged it. Florence was the sister of Cornelius Vanderbilt II of the nearby Breakers. It was Florence`s daughter who gave the property to Salve Regina.
That university must have some tuition to be able to operate and maintain these massive buildings?
60k
Have been there and walked on the cliff walk, beautiful!
amazing
Marble House has 500,000 cubic feet of marble, not 500! Seaview is also known as "Hurricane Hut" as it has been hit by a number of storms due to its location sticking out into the ocean. Sorry you didn't include Crossways, the Mamie Fish mansion, or Hammersmith Farm, the Auchincloss (step-father to Jackie Kennedy and site of her wedding reception) mansion. The most magnificent mansion that you actually should have included is Harbour Court (built by the Browns of Providence, RI and currently owned by the NY Yacht Club).
Yes, Hammersmith Farm would have been a nice addition - the wedding venue of Jackie Bouvier and Jack Kennedy.
One of my distant ancestors founded #9…how cool is that? Cheers from Toronto Canada
MY FAVORITE IS ROUGH POINT. I HAVE NOT SEEN IT IN 20 YEARS, BUT I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN IT.
I loved Jay Leno’s house, it was lovely and well decorated.
Agree. Hammer smith Farm is amazing!
I have lived here for over 20 years and have not heard of most of these. I do feel fortunate, I bought a condo in one of the mansions here on Rhode Island avenue - I still can't believe I live there.
Rosecliff has always been my favorite. That hasn't changed since I moved to Aquidneck Island 4 years ago.
We are looking at visiting Newport in Oct 2023. Not sure which ones I'll visit, but a few for sure.
I would love to visit Newport someday.
Thank you
You're welcome. Thank you for visiting!
My favourite is Seafair. Not too big, not too small, just right
Went 2 weeks ago after seeing the video did the cliff walk then drove to ferry and went to block island then drove back home to NYC loved it
Sounds like you had a great time. Happy to have inspired you!
I was there in September 1994.
Homes like this inspired me to name my home
Pretty much any kid who grew up in the mid-sixties through the mid-seventies would recognize Seaview Terrace. It’s Collinwood, from the original afternoon version of Dark Shadows and the place has often gotten plenty of publicity by playing up that angle. Seems to me that on the property’s website at some point it was called Collinwood, but I might be misremembering that
You can’t take it with you. Edson Bradley: hold my beer.
I will probably go in summer, to do a "Spirit Box" session, to see if any "Tops" still linger in the area. I've gotten Sir Martin Rothschild (lost on the Titanic) before. I will reach out to the Astors, also Titanic fatalities.
Aloha PATRON.Hi you? Howz 🔥 it Uncle Unti. Sending you BLESSINGS today from my phone. Mahalo I hope your home b filled with KALIKLMAKA 🤴☃️
I’ve fallen in love with the Guilded Age. It harkens back to a time when America was truly booming. Now we seem to be in decay 😢
Seaview was used as the exterior of the Collins family mansion in the soap opera Dark Shadows. You had to rush home every day after school to see what mischief Barnabas had gotten into. ;o)
You forgot Hammersmith farm. The Kennedy summer Whitehouse
An overlook! Thank you!
a-QUID-neck island . Also known as "Rhode Island", which is where the state gets its name.
How fascinating to see #1 & #25 designed by distant ancestor George Champlin Mason.
Beaulieu is pronounced "byooley" - beau as in beautiful. Fascinating video, thank you.
Yes! Thank you!
The Beaulieu family in Minnesota pronounced it 'boy-low'. One of my brothers had been engaged to a Beaulieu.
@@rosepelzel4244 Interesting. Over here in the UK, it's different. Similarly with Beauchamp, which is pronounced like Beecham.
The right prononciation of Beaulieu name is ‘bo-li-eu’
Loved ALL of them....and a great bonus was that you could pronounce all their names correctly"
cool
The Berwinds live in Bellevue WA now
Number 7 was featured as Collinwood in Dark Shadows original TV series: I'm surprised that was not mentioned. As soon as I saw it, I thought "HEY!"
Roseclicff is my favorite. I love the French. They make exceptional toast, wonderful fries and they kiss so nicely.
How about showing Watch hill in Westerly Rhode Island. Have some beautiful homes there
My Father was General Eisenhower’s bodyguard during WWII>
I visited one of the mansions years ago that had a gold carriage, a huge chandelier, and I remember a painting that had eyes following you. Cant remember the name of it.
Enjoyed this video? Want to see more of some of these beautiful estates? Then come on over to our channel and check out Audrain's Mansions and Motorcars with hosts Jay Leno and Donald Osborne! We've featured several of the mansions listed here and there's even more to come! Watch Here: kzhead.info/channel/PLdNT8TMd3ccc0Dw5I8S3nily_Glvnr48B.html
You forgot Hammersmith farm
14:20 I love how he said she moved from Land's end to The Mount as a downsize, like she moved into a two-bedroom apartment or started doing Van Life or something. 💀
seafair&rosecliff
They were all beautiful. I was hoping Hammersmith would have been listed. I visited New Port in 1982. If I'm correct Hammersmith and the Kennedy's were connected.
It was the childhood home of Jackie Kennedy..Her step father, Hugh Auchincloss owned it...and Jackie and JFK had their wedding reception at Hammersmith Farm....I had the privilege to tour Hammersmith BEFORE it was sold to a private owner...I love Newport and feel lucky I live about a half hour away from there...🙂
Great video living in NYC I always wanted to tour the area just haven't been up there. I've seen the mansions on the gold coast of long Island where Gatsby was written about you should do a tour of that area the Holmes aren't all there anymore but a lot are
Yes we definitely have Gold Coast on our list. Will put one out soon. Thanks for watching!
Next time im in Newport I gotta crash at Jay Leno's place
Mansion was gifted to the society 25 years ago but it’s still not open to tourists. why does the society need that?
The Elms belonged to my family. I live in low cost housing now. Carol Berwind
@ 9:50 Marble House ---should be 500,000 cubic feet, not 500. :-)
Thanks!
Beautiful photography and fascinating information. Repetitive music was annoying, though.