Visitor Info
View our FAQs, map & parking, guidelines, and more.
Tours, Groups, Exclusive Experiences
Explore our various tour types to find what’s best for you and your group.
History of Newport and the Mansions
Founded in 1639, Newport was an important port city, a center of the slave trade, a fashionable resort and the summer home of the Gilded Age rich.
What was the Gilded Age?
The Gilded Age was a period of unprecedented change in America. Fortunes were spent on luxuries such as the lavish "summer cottages" of Newport.
Deep Dive into the Show
Learn about the people, places and events depicted in Julian Fellowes' popular historical drama series.
Current Members
Current members can see a full list of benefits and any information regarding Members Events.
Become a Member
We invite you to become a member of the Preservation Society today. In addition to joining an active community of preservation supporters and advocates, members are offered unlimited access to all open houses.
About Us
Our mission is to protect, preserve, and present the best of Newport County's architectural heritage. Learn more about us and our work.
Wind Farm Federal Appeal: FAQs
The Preservation Society of Newport County is appealing federal agency approval of two massive wind farms off the Rhode Island coast.
Personal Photography on the Grounds
Rent our museums for commercial photography & videography, TV production, and wedding photography.
Commercial Filming or Photography
Museum Rentals & Weddings
Host your wedding, rehearsal dinner, corporate event, or other celebration at our historic museums.
Who were the everyday Americans in this great period of industrialization and urbanization? Where did they come from? What did they do for work? For fun? What were their struggles and triumphs? This richly illustrated presentation examines the lives of the men, women and children whose labor helped make possible this period of astonishing transition and innovation, and who contributed to the nation’s wealth of diversity.
Event thumbnail photo credit: Mulberry Street, New York,” Detroit Publishing Company, ca. 1900. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.
Nancy C. Unger is Professor of History at Santa Clara University. She has served as President of the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, and three of her four books focus on that historical period. Her op-eds applying the lessons of the past to the present have appeared in dozens of publications and websites, including The Washington Post, CNN and TIME. Additional appearances include Public Radio International, National Public Radio, PBS and C-SPAN.
“Surf Bathing,” circa 1900-1905. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.
“Breaker boys working in Ewen Breaker of Pennsylvania Coal Co.” Photograph by Lewis Hine, January 1911. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.
“Mulberry Street, New York,” Detroit Publishing Company, ca. 1900. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.
“From the Depths,” William Balfour Ker, 1906. Originally published in The Silent War by John Ames Mitchell. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time.
See and hear how the other half lived. This tour will highlight the stories of some of the men and women who worked to service the social whirl of Newport during the Gilded Age.
Explore China’s deep influence on Newport from the 18th century through the Gilded Age. This exhibition brings together more than 100 extraordinary objects and illuminates how many different people of Chinese heritage, including artists, merchants, immigrant entrepreneurs and women suffragists, shaped all aspects of life in Newport.
This outdoor spectacle of holiday lights will dazzle and delight you! The 13-acre landscape of The Breakers turns into a wonderland of color and light. Includes tour of the lavish decorated rooms inside the house. Open on select evenings through the season. Includes The Breakers interior tour during the same visit.
A great Newport tradition! See The Breakers, Marble House and The Elms dressed in their festive holiday finery. It’s the most spectacular time of the year at these awe-inspiring Gilded Age mansions.
Our annual black-tie holiday event is sold out. The waitlist is at capacity and has been closed. Happy Holidays to all!
SOLD OUT
Preservation Society members, this evening is for you! Enjoy music, food, drinks and conversation amid the holiday décor in The Elms.
After a one-year sojourn to Marble House, New England’s premier flower show returns to Rosecliff with the theme of “At Home.”
Save the dates for the 19th annual festival, featuring the Vintner Dinner, Sunday Brunch and tasty yet educational seminar experiences.
Download our tour app before your visit and bring your earbuds.
Parking is free onsite at all properties except for Hunter House and The Breakers Stable & Carriage House, where street parking is available.
Answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Explore the 11 properties under the stewardship of the Preservation Society and open as historic house museums.
Partners in Preservation
