Wealth beyond belief - Newport Rhode Island

We have just returned from a 2 day trip to Newport, Rhode Island and are now back at Helens, cleaning, and packing up camping gear and packing to come home (sigh). Peter is doing the long tedious task of breaking down the bikes and packing them up:

Peter in the middle of packing up bikes, with fluorescent duct tape, cardboard boxes and bubble wrap as packing.  Don't you  love his cycling tan on his arms!!!

Newport is about a one hour drive from New Bedford (where we are now) and truly has amazing history.  Settled in 1639 by some people rejected from original settlements because their religious beliefs didn't conform, Newport seems to have become a byword for extreme wealth (but there are totally normal people like us who live there too...).

If you ever get a chance to visit, it is worth it (and we would in retrospect probably have spent a few more days there as we didn't get to see everything).  If only to marvel at the immense wealth created in the US from the 1600's to, well really, to now. 

Newport has had a strong history for religious tolerance, with a range of religious settlers and different religions in the early days and has the oldest standing Jewish Synagogue in the US.  It is also a major Naval centre for the US Navy and Naval training.  But the two main claims to fame that most people know about are the 'summer mansions' and for us kiwi's, The America's Cup.

We didn't get to see a lot of the harbour and America's Cup associated features, but had dinner downtown last night and saw streets and restaurants named after sailing and America's Cup features.  Newport has a terrific natural harbour, which has been not only an important leisure sailing and naval harbour, but also a significant trade harbour in the 18th Century (sadly including being the centre of the slave trade for New England.)

The quick look at the harbour that we had showed some amazing leisure yachts, I'm sure a bit more time would highlight more of them, it is an important location to get work done on the luxury yachts.

But we spent all our time looking at the 'Cliff walk' and the Summer Mansions, and then at the International Tennis Hall of Fame (more on that later).  For the cliff walk, we had a book which we read as we got to each house, so rather than try and summarise that (and our about 4 hour walk), I've copied this from Wikipedia for you:

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters seeking to escape the heat began to build summer cottages on Bellevue Avenue such as Kingscote (1839). Around the middle of the century, wealthy Yankees such as the Wetmore family also began constructing larger mansions such as Chateau-sur-Mer (1852) nearby.Most of these early families made a substantial part of their fortunes in the Old China Trade.

By the turn of the 20th century, many of the nation's wealthiest families were summering in Newport, including the Vanderbilts, Astors and Widener family who constructed the largest "cottages", such as The Breakers (1895) and Miramar. They came for a brief social season to grand, gilded mansions with elaborate receiving, dining, music and ballrooms, but with few bedrooms, since the guests were expected to have cottages of their own. Many of the homes were designed by the New York architect Richard Morris Hunt, who himself kept a house in Newport.

The social scene at Newport is described in Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence. Wharton's own Newport cottage was called Land's End. Today, many mansions continue in private use. Others, including Hammersmith Farm, the mansion from which Jackie Kennedy was married, are now open to tourists as house museums. Still others were converted into academic buildings for Salve Regina College in the 1930s when the owners could no longer afford their tax bills.

Ochre Court, Newport, Rhode Island

Entrance Hall of Ochre Court, now Admin offices of Salve Regina, private Catholic College

Ballroom of Ochre Court, now Admin offices of Salve Regina, private Catholic College

The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island.  We didn't have time to do the tour inside, but we did see the 'childrens playhouse' with fireplace and kitchen, real working ones with children sized facilities, so that the children (up to the age of 12 or 13) could learn independence.  They spent the afternoons of their 8 -10 week summers in the 'playhouse' learning how to be independent.  It was a full two room house.

Newport was where the truly wealthy had their 'summer cottages'.  Some of the stories of the wifes of the wealthy magnates catfighting and bitching were truly amazing.  What can happen when you have nothing else to spend your money on.  They competed to get the most amazing house, the most terrific garden, the largest staff, the most famous guests to dinner, the best balls.  The two houses that we took photos of where Ochre Court and The Breakers.  But there are many many magnificent houses.

The wealthy got ideas from France, Italy, England, and incorporated them in their 'cottages'.  Many of the houses cost $2m - $5m to build (back then, in the 1800's)...  Ochre Court, was estimated to cost $4.5million when it was built.  Fortunes amassed, were as much as $100 million (in 1800 dollars...., who nows how many billions that would be now).  There was so much money, that European royalty was readily lining up to marry into this wealth, and there were a number of counts, countesses, dukes etc etc living here.

Remember though, these were their 'summer cottages'.  They also has mansions in New York (that we primarily read about).  We wonder what those places were like if these were only their summer cottages!!

You could spend several days looking at the exteriors and visting the interiors of the places that are open to the public.

The Newport Casino was opened as what would probably be called a 'country club' today. No gambling, but tennis, restaurants and many other leisure activities.  It has since become the International Tennis Hall of Fame.  Again, absolutely fascinating, and we could have spent another hour or so there (but it closed, and we had to get help from the security guard to get out!!!).  Andre Agassi has just been inducted, in an apparently emotional speech, there was a special exhibit honouring him.  In addition, there was information on the history of tennis, of the Davis and Federation Cups, the ATP (mens international professional tour) and the WTA (womens international professional tour). 

There were profiles of each of the inductees, learned how amazing Suzanne Lenglen (french) was, one of the main courts at Roland Garros (where the French Open is played) is named after her, and surprisingly, how many of the really outstanding players died quite young, a number around their late 30's and early 40's.

We learned about 'court tennis' and went to see a 'court tennis' court, where a game was being played. It is one of the original forms of tennis and is kind of a cross between squash and tennis (looked way too confusing for me!!!).

We had a lovely visit with our friend Carolyn, thanks so much for your hospitality.  One of the features of the house that we stayed at is below.  As a financial planner, I loved it.  It is believed to be a hollow pole at the base of the stairwell.  When you have finally paid off your mortgage, you put the mortgage document in the pole and cap it off with the medallion on top.  Then when people come and visit they know (admiringly) that the house is freehold.  Pretty cool huh, what a sense of achievement and celebration (not necessarily that everyone else knows that the house if freehold, but pretty cool that you would know).

Post which we believe is hollow, you put the mortgage document in the post when it is paid off and top it off with a medallion

Medallion on top of the post - with the mortgage inside it we assume.

Weather has cooled down a smidge....  apparently going to get hotter again.  We have the packing day today, the shopping day tomorrow, then off the Boston to discover Boston, and hopefully get out to Harvard this time!!!