Operating Schedule
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Visitor Info
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Tours, Groups, Exclusive Experiences
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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.
“Inside the Newport Mansions” Gilded Age Conversations
Noted historians and authors share their insights into all aspects of Gilded Age America in this monthly series of interviews with the Preservation Society.
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Premium Memberships
We invite you to join these exclusive levels of membership for patrons interested in enhanced access and benefits at the Preservation Society.
Current Members
As a member, you can enjoy unlimited general admission to our properties and do not need tickets. Simply bring your membership card for admission.
Membership FAQs
Membership gives you free, unlimited access to regular guided and audio tours at all Newport Mansions properties.
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
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Commercial Filming or Photography
Museum Rentals & Weddings
Host your wedding, rehearsal dinner, corporate event, or other celebration at our historic museums.
Americans’ relationship with animals transformed during the Gilded Age (1870-1914). With a focus on Newport history, the exhibition explores how this exciting, tumultuous period shaped the role of animals in our modern world. Exhibition was open August 30, 2024 – January 12, 2025.
In the late 19th century, Americans moved in large numbers from farms to cities, losing touch with a rural way of life and with the closeness to nature and animals that defined it. Nostalgia for a lost kinship with animals pervaded urban, industrial America. At the same time, many were encountering new, “exotic” species through a boom in foreign travel, marine exploration and imperial expansion. More everyday Americans enjoyed natural history pursuits like birdwatching. Pet keeping surged. And while captive animals thrilled spectators at zoos and circuses, which both had their heyday in the Gilded Age, activists launched the nation’s first animal rights movement.
Newporters played a vital, though often contradictory, part in these developments. They fought at the vanguard of the animal rights movement yet set the era’s fashion for furs and feathers as residents of its most stylish summer resort. Newporters pampered their pets but expanded industries like the railroads that ravaged wildlife habitats.
Wild Imagination brings together a menagerie of animal-themed artworks and other objects, from paintings, sculptures, photographs and fashions to fancy dog collars and sea creatures blown in glass. These pieces reflect profound and lasting changes in human-animal relations. They also reveal the individual stories of wondrous creatures that continue to capture our imagination.
In addition to items from the Newport Mansions collections, objects in this exhibition are generously loaned by the following institutions: Brown University Castle Hill Inn Columbus Museum of Art Harvard University Historic New England Maryhill Museum of Art The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home Museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame Mystic Seaport Museum National Museum of American Illustration Newport Historical Society Newport Restoration Foundation New-York Historical Society New York University Trinity College
Cat in a Crate S.S. David (American, 1847-1898), c. 1887 Oil on canvas stretched around box Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio: Museum Purchase with funds provided by Loann Crane and the Derby and Howald Funds. 2019.026.
Loïe Fuller in Butterfly Gown Reutlinger Photography Studio (Paris, 1850-1937), c. 1898 Cabinet card Collection of Maryhill Museum of Art
Les Trois Amis (The Three Friends) Charles Chaplin (French, 1825-1891), 1887; Frame made by Jules Allard and Sons (French, active 1878-1907) Oil on canvas, oak and giltwood frame Bequest of Mrs. Harold S. Vanderbilt. PSNC.429.
“Tired! How Could I Be Tired, Cuckoo?" Illustration in The Cuckoo Clock Written by Mary Louisa Molesworth (British, 1839-1921) and illustrated by Walter Crane (British, 1845-1915) (London: Macmillan and Co., originally 1877), 1892 Ink on paper, cloth Gift of Ms. Elizabeth K. Misener. PSNC.12643.3.
The Spiders and the Flies (Caricatures of Jay Gould and William Henry Vanderbilt) Charles Kendrick (American, 1841-1914) for Chic (January 25, 1881), p. 8-9 Lithograph Watkinson Library's Division of Special Collections, Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.
Portrait of Hippodale at Six Years Old Mariette Leslie Cotton (American, 1866-1947), c. 1910 Oil on canvas, giltwood frame Gift of Miss. Christina C. Anderson. PSNC.14388.
French Bulldog Figurine Émile Gallé (French, 1846-1904), c. 1890 Tin-glazed earthenware, glass Gift of Mrs. Alletta Morris McBean. PSNC.8631.
The Turkey Shoot (or New England Turkey Shoot) Julian Scott (American, 1846-1901), 1875 Watercolor on paper Gift of Mrs. Alletta Morris McBean. PSNC.8567.
Coffee Service Worcester Royal Porcelain Company (English, 1862-present), probably decorated by John Hopewell (English, 1834-1894), 1875-1879 Gift of Mrs. Alletta Morris McBean. PSNC.8550.1ab-.6ab.
Dactylometra, Newport, Rhode Island (detail) Unidentified Photographer, 1897 Ernst Mayr Library and Archives of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time.June 1 - September 1, offered at 10 am & 2 pm
For the first time in the 129-year history of The Breakers, the private third-floor family space occupied by generations of Vanderbilts is open for public tours.
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. June 1 - September 1, offered at 10 am, 12 pm & 2 pm
Fans of HBO’s "The Gilded Age" will love this guide-led tour of locations in four of the Newport Mansions where Julian Fellowes' historical drama series was filmed. Fridays only, May 2 through June 27.
Learn tips and tricks from the Preservation Society's Director of Gardens & Landscapes to help you prepare your garden beds for a successful growing season.
Learn about Newport’s landscape history, the threat posed by beech leaf disease and planting strategies for the future. This educational forum is a collaborative effort among The Preservation Society of Newport County, Bartlett Tree Experts, the City of Newport, Salve Regina University, Aquidneck Land Trust and The Newport Tree Conservancy.SOLD OUT for in-person attendance. Virtual attendance is available.
Get your garden going or find nice springtime and Mother's Day gifts for friends and family! A variety of flowers, vegetables and specialty plants are available while supplies last.
Our next Young Patron event invites guests to learn to dance – 1920s style!
Learn the history behind The Elms gardens and grounds with Jim Donahue, Curator of Historic Landscapes.
SOLD OUT
Join Jeff Curtis, Director of Gardens & Landscapes, for a guided tour of the specimen trees on the Marble House grounds.
Daisies, Brownies, Juniors and Cadets will get a chance to explore Green Animals Topiary Garden and earn a badge by completing activities. Presented in partnership with the Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England.
This exhibition examines the mind, ambition and legacy of America’s Dean of Architecture, who shaped Gilded Age America not only through the buildings he created – including The Breakers and Marble House – but also through his ideas.
Themed “A Floral Fair,” the 29th annual Show will combine the elegance of a Gilded Age fête with the good cheer of a summer county fair.
Grab your clubs for an unforgettable day on the greens at the Preservation Society’s Annual Golf Outing at Newport National Golf Club in Middletown, R.I., a challenging links-style course with views of the Atlantic Ocean and Sakonnet Passage.
Thank you to all of our sponsors, guests and volunteers for another successful Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival. See you next year for the 20th annual festival, September 19-21, 2025, at Rosecliff. Become a Preservation Society member and receive early access to purchase 2025 tickets before they become available to the general public.
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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
