Operating Schedule
See which of the mansions are open and when. Search by date or month, or view the full year’s schedule.
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.
“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.
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.
With Trudy Coxe, CEO and Executive Director of The Preservation Society of Newport County
On July 26, 2022, The Preservation Society of Newport County hosted “An Evening with Julian Fellowes,” the creator of “Downton Abbey” and “The Gilded Age” and the recipient of the Society’s 2022 Antiquarian Award. The highlight of the evening at The Breakers was this wide-ranging interview of Lord Fellowes conducted by Preservation Society CEO and Executive Director Trudy Coxe.
(December 2024) Author and historian Thomas Ruys Smith discusses his book, “Christmas Past: An Anthology of Seasonal Stories from Nineteenth-Century America,” explaining how the stories in this collection reflect the origins and evolution of Christmas as a holiday, and how that growth impacted American literature during the Gilded Age.
(November 2024) Learn about the incredible exploits of Cassie Chadwick, a memorable Gilded Age con artist profiled by author Annie Reed in her book “The Imposter Heiress.” One of history’s most successful con artists, Chadwick was dubbed the “Queen of Swindlers,” the “Duchess of Diamonds” and the “High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance” by newspapers of her time.
(October 2024) Spiritualism was a religious movement claiming spirits of the dead are able and willing to communicate with the living. Kathryn Sheehan, Executive Director of the Hart Cluett Museum, discusses the 19th-century origins of this movement in upstate New York, and how it attracted prominent supporters like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Cornelius Vanderbilt.
(September 2024) Join us for an exclusive conversation with world-renowned chef Jacques Pépin before his appearance in the 2024 Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival. In this episode, Pépin shares stories from his culinary journey, insights into his French roots, and his thoughts on the art of cooking. Discover what inspires this legendary chef and his connection to Newport. Bon appétit!
(July 2024) Preservation Society CEO Trudy Coxe discusses “The Great Elephant Migration” exhibition with Ruth Ganesh, a principal trustee of Elephant Family – a UK-based NGO dedicated to protecting Asian elephants. Later, Trudy is joined by Preservation Society Curator of Collections Dr. Nicole Williams, who discusses the exhibition “Wild Imagination: Art and Animals in the Gilded Age” at Rosecliff.
(May 2024) Bard College Professor Dr. Myra Armstead, author of “‘Lord, Please Don’t Take Me in August’: African Americans in Newport and Saratoga Springs,” discusses conventional narratives of Black politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and how the political outlook of African heritage communities in resort towns like Newport and Saratoga was less easily categorized.
(March 2024) Dr. Jonathan Michael Square of Parsons School of Design delves into the life of W.E.B. Du Bois through the lens of fashion. He traces Du Bois’ evolving fashion sense across nearly a century of life, spanning from the era of Reconstruction to the Civil Rights movement’s dawn, shedding light on the significance of how Du Bois presented himself.
(February 2024) Theresa “Soni” Guzmán Stokes, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, previews the exhibition “Gilded Age Newport in Color” at Rosecliff and discusses significant historical figures of the African heritage community in Newport, including doctors, dentists, teachers, hoteliers and other entrepreneurs who laid the foundation for the later 20th-century civil rights movements.
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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
