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| Fell Bridge Lighthouse |
There are a lot of choices for things to do in Newport. Being a seafaring port with lots of maritime history, we started with a visit to the Shipping Restoration School down at one of the many wharves. The building was closed so we made our way to Fort Adams where the Museum of Yachting is housed.
There were remnants on display from the Coronet, a wooden-hull schooner yacht built in 1885, which was one of the oldest and largest schooner yachts in the world. The vessel won a TransAtlantic Race in 1887. The museum also had several small rowing vessels, a few trophies from Atlantic Races, and several ship models.
Overall it seemed a bit of a disappointment from other maritime museums we’ve seen during our travels.
Once the hub of Colonial commerce, cobblestone wharves on the waterfront off Thames Street remain busy with galleries and restaurants. The Newport area became a resort town when the country’s wealthiest citizens recognized its promise as a vacation spot. In the late 1800s Newport attracted prosperous planters, coal barons, railroad magnates, and successful traders and merchants who built extravagant summer homes overlooking the Rhode Island Sound.
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| The Breakers built for the Vanderbilts |
Many of them like the Vanderbilts and Astors during the Gilded Age hired noted architect Richard Morris Hunt, venerated for his 19th century adaptation of the European Beau-Arts style to design their mansions. What an experience it was to visit these architectural masterpieces and see such incredible art collections. Enjoy our candids of a few Newport Mansions.
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| Aerial view of Newport Mansions and the Cliff Walk Trail( Google image credit) |
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| There is a 3.5 mile Cliff Walk around the tip of Rhode Island South surrounding many ocean front mansions |
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| Green Animals Topiary Garden is fun |
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| Topiary camels at Rough Point Estate. Doris Duke actually had two live camels as pets given to her by a sheik. |
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| Terraced gardens at The Elms |
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| The Elms estate's two carriage houses |
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| Chinese Teahouse on the back lawn at Marble House |
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| The Vanderbilt's Marble House Gold Room |
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| The Marble House patio overlooks Rhode Island Sound |
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| In 1895 these folks didn't pay taxes |
There are a lot of choices for things to do in Newport. Being a seafaring port with lots of maritime history, we started with a visit to the Shipping Restoration School down at one of the many wharves. The building was closed so we made our way to Fort Adams where the Museum of Yachting is housed.
