Thursday, June 28, 2007 Bangayan: The House that Vanderbilt built By Dorothy Bangayan The Unlonely Planet
OH TO be eccentrically loaded and have a billion dollars to spend -- a glimpse of how the rich throw away their cash lies in a house resting on Ochre Street, Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
This summer house turned tourist spot will let you take a peek (whether you are on the A list or not) into the glamorous lives of the Vanderbilts, a family founded by a railroad tycoon in America during the 1800s.
Also called the Breakers, this house was built at the height of Cornelius Vanderbilt's fortunes in the 1800's and was simply meant for two ridiculously rich reasons, first is to escape from the city heat and second to throw elaborate parties as a sign of their status in this whole new world both you and I are no part of. So how do we spend thee money? Let me count thy ways...
This 11 acre Italian Renaissance mansion has seventy rooms and 23 bathrooms. (I think that's it even more than what my school has) Enter this mansion through the great hall built 50 feet high with lofty arches of French Caen stone, Italian marble, oak leaf and acorn motif and a ceiling painted like a sky.
Over each of the six doors in the Hall are figures that represent progress in art, science and industry like Galileo (science), Dante (literature), Apollo (arts ), Mercury (speed and commerce), Hunt (their architect) and Bitter (sculpture).
The formal dining room has an area of 2400 square feet, with two 12 foot chandeliers by Cristalleries Baccarat weighing a ton each. Underneath is a mahogany table that can seat 34 people.
The breakfast room, where the family usually dines is an elegant salon taken whole from an 18th century French townhouse.
All the sinks and bathtubs have 4 spigots (faucets) for hot and cold fresh water and hot and cold salt water.
Mrs. Vanderbilt's bathtub, made to look like an ornate Roman sarcophagus, was carved from a single piece of white marble Everything that looks like gold in the room is real gold.
That includes whatever is yellow that is inlaid in the ceiling, floor and everything else.
They have a playhouse built for the children which is actually the size of a small house itself.
They have rooms for everything. You name it, they got it. A morning room for days when all you want to do is to enjoy the sunlight, a music room to practice the harp and piano, a library, a room for arranging flowers, a butler's pantry with a second story mezzanine where glass cupboards showcase all the silver and china along with a dummy waiter to move them.
Their kitchen is two stories high with several ovens and a rotisserie. There is a separate kitchen for pastries (because if you are Vanderbilt, you simply must have pastries for breakfast).
They have a ten foot vault for all the silverware they own. After all, the 1000 guests will need to dine in something. They bring the silverware back to New York City because it was extremely valuable.
During their time, there were no refrigerators yet. They only have one small ice box which they hardly use because if you are a Vanderbilt, why keep leftovers?
They have several fireplaces built in which they never use because it was a summer home.
In the library is a three century old fireplace purchased from a French chateau with the old French inscription "De gran bien me rie, et poinct ne default; il n'est qu' adresse, quant tout prevault," roughly translated in English as "I laugh at great wealth, and never miss it; nothing but wisdom matters in the end."
Maybe that is why Countess Gladys, the daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt lease this Mansion to the "Preservation Society of Newport County" for the whopping price of one dollar. (Now if I can only find an apartment at that price...)
