The Breakers - Definition and Overview

The Breakers as seen from the lawn leading down to the sea

The Breakers is a mansion, built as a summer home in Newport, Rhode Island by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy United States Vanderbilt family. Designed by architect, Richard Morris Hunt, the 70 room mansion was constructed between 1893 and 1895 at the then astronomical cost of more than $7 million dollars. Built on Ochre Point Avenue, the entrance is marked by sculpted iron gates and 30-foot high walkway gates are part of a twelve-foot-high limestone and iron fence that borders the property on all but the ocean side. The 250' x 150' dimensions of the five-story mansion are aligned symmetrically around a central Great Hall.

Part of a 13 acre (53,000 m²) estate on the seagirt cliffs of Newport, it sits in a commanding position that faces east overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Cornelius Vanderbilt II insisted that the building be made as fireproof as possible and as such, the structure of the building used steel trusses and no wooden parts. The designers created an interior using marble imported from Italy and Africa plus rare woods and mosaics from countries around the world. It also included entire rooms purchased from great Chateaux in France.

Materials

• Foundation: Brick, Concrete and Limestone
• Walls: Indiana Limestone
• Roof: Terra cotta Red Tile
• Other: marble (plaques), wrought Iron (gates & fences)

In 1948 Countess Gladys Szechenyi (1886-1965), the youngest daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, leased the high maintenance property to the non-profit "Preservation Society of Newport County" for $1 a year. After negotiations with other Vanderbilt family members, the society bought "The Breakers" outright in 1973. It is now a major tourist attraction.

See also: Vanderbilt mansions

External link

• Complete details of the building, from the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service (http://www.cr.nps.gov/nhl/designations/samples/ri/breakers.pdf) (Adobe PDF file)