It was the kind of secret that made you look twice at the tourists streaming through the gates. For generations, visitors to The Breakers—the crown jewel of Newport’s cliff walk—gazed up at the 70-room palazzo and never realized that the family who built it was still there. While thousands walked through the gilded Great Hall each summer, Vanderbilt descendants were living just one floor above them. That chapter ended in 2018. Now, for the first time in 130 years, the private third-floor apartments of Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s heirs are open to the public. The revelation is rewriting what we thought we knew about this iconic mansion and offering an intimate, unvarnished look at the family who defined the Gilded Age.
The Summer “Cottage” That Changed Newport Forever
The Vanderbilt mansion Rhode Island residents know as The Breakers wasn’t built to be a museum. When Cornelius Vanderbilt II, grandson of the Commodore who built the family railroad fortune, purchased the oceanfront property in 1885, he wasn’t thinking about posterity. He was thinking about summer. The original wooden house on the site, a Queen Anne-style cottage designed by Peabody and Stearns for tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard IV, had been the talk of Newport when it was completed in 1878 .
Vanderbilt paid a staggering $400,000 for the estate—an astronomical sum at the time—and immediately began renovations. But fate had other plans. On a cold November night in 1892, a kitchen fire swept through the house. Vanderbilt, his wife Alice, and their children had been staying for the Christmas holidays when flames consumed the structure they had called their summer retreat . The loss was devastating, but it also presented an opportunity.
Cornelius Vanderbilt II insisted on two things for the new house: it had to be the grandest in Newport, and it had to be fireproof. He brought in architect Richard Morris Hunt, who had designed the family’s New York residence and was considered the preeminent architect of the Gilded Age. The result, completed in 1895, was nothing short of revolutionary .
Building a Palace That Couldn’t Burn
The new Vanderbilt mansion Rhode Island now celebrates as The Breakers was a technological marvel. Hunt designed the structure using steel trusses and masonry, eliminating wood framing entirely. The boiler and utilities were moved underground, connected to the main house by a steam tunnel that ran beneath the front lawn . Vanderbilt’s obsession with fire prevention extended to the kitchen, which was isolated in a service wing separate from the main body of the house .
The cost? More than $7 million—roughly equivalent to $330 million today . The house covered nearly an acre, with 70 rooms including 48 bedrooms, 27 fireplaces, and 65,000 square feet of living space . Hunt drew inspiration from the 16th-century palaces of Genoa, creating a 50-foot-high Great Hall modeled on an Italian courtyard but enclosed to withstand the New England climate .
In an era when electricity was still a novelty, The Breakers boasted both electric and gas lighting . The mansion’s interior showcased the finest materials money could buy: marble imported from Italy and Africa, rare woods from around the world, and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the dining room . The Morning Room featured platinum leaf panels on its walls—not silver, as conservators had long assumed, but platinum, one of the most valuable metals on earth .
An Unlikely $1 Lease and a Shocking Sale Price
The Vanderbilt family lived in the house until Cornelius’s death in 1899. Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt survived him by 35 years, ultimately leaving the property to her youngest daughter, Gladys, who had married a Hungarian count and become Countess Széchenyi . But maintaining a 70-room summer cottage with a full staff was becoming increasingly impossible in the changing economic landscape of the 20th century.
In 1948, Gladys made a decision that would preserve The Breakers for generations: she leased the property to the fledgling Preservation Society of Newport County for just one dollar per year . In exchange, the Society would cover operating expenses and maintenance while offering public tours. By 1972, the Preservation Society purchased the Vanderbilt mansion Rhode Island had come to see as its most iconic landmark—for just $365,000, less than Vanderbilt had paid for the property nearly a century earlier .
But the purchase came with a remarkable condition. The family retained the right to continue living on the third floor, which would remain closed to the public. And so they did—for nearly five more decades.
The Aerie: A Family’s Hidden Sanctuary
The third floor of The Breakers was never meant to be a museum. It was a home. Countess Sylvia Szapáry, Gladys’s daughter, lived there part-time until her death in 1998 . Her children, Gladys and Paul Szapary, continued the family tradition of summering within the walls of the mansion, maintaining a lifestyle that had been essentially unchanged for generations .
But in 2018, the last Vanderbilt descendants finally moved out. With their departure, the Preservation Society gained access to the entire third floor for the first time. The intimate family apartments, which had evolved with the times out of necessity, were no longer frozen in the Gilded Age. They bore the marks of modern living—updated bathrooms, comfortable furniture, and the personal effects of generations .
Now, in a move that has electrified the historic preservation world, the Preservation Society has opened these private quarters for public tours. The “Third Floor: Preservation in Progress” tour offers visitors a rare glimpse into the family’s actual living spaces, complete with the conservation work currently underway . It’s a stark contrast to the formal, museum-like rooms below. Here, visitors see where Vanderbilts actually lived—not just entertained.
More Than a Mansion: A Monument to Preservation
The Breakers has long been more than just a Vanderbilt mansion Rhode Island visitors marvel at. It’s a testament to preservation itself. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994, the property now draws approximately 450,000 visitors annually, making it the most visited attraction in the state .
But the preservation work never stops. In 2014, the Society undertook a major project to repair the boundary fence and the underground boiler room, excavating the century-old complex to waterproof and stabilize it . Every year, new discoveries are made. Conservators continue to uncover hidden details, like the platinum leaf in the Morning Room, which was only identified through portable X-ray testing .
The People Behind the Palace
What makes The Breakers resonate with modern visitors isn’t just its opulence—it’s the human story. Richard Morris Hunt, the architect, collaborated with Jules Allard and Sons of Paris on the interiors, while Austrian-American sculptor Karl Bitter created the relief sculptures that celebrate human achievement in art, science, and industry .
Ogden Codman, a Boston architect, oversaw the design of the family quarters—the very spaces now opening to the public . The library, which was the center of Vanderbilt family life, features a 16th-century stone mantel imported from the Château d’Arnay le Duc in Burgundy, carved with an Old French motto that great wealth counts for little and only wisdom prevails in the end . The irony of that sentiment in a house built at such staggering cost isn’t lost on visitors.
What You Can See Today
The Breakers is open for tours year-round, with the newly accessible third-floor apartments available by appointment . For those interested in the technology behind the mansion, the “Beneath The Breakers” tour explores the underground systems that made the house a marvel of its time .
During the holiday season, The Breakers transforms with a 15-foot poinsettia tree in the Great Hall and elaborate decorations throughout its 70 rooms . The Sparkling Lights outdoor display, now in its sixth season, added an additional 25,000 lights in 2025, turning the 13-acre grounds into an illuminated winter wonderland . Visitors can tour both the mansion and the outdoor display with a single ticket, experiencing the full scope of what this Vanderbilt mansion Rhode Island offers.
Key Takeaways
- The Breakers was built from 1893-1895 after a devastating fire destroyed the previous wooden house on the site.
- Vanderbilt descendants lived in private third-floor apartments until 2018, and these spaces are now open for public tours.
- The mansion cost more than $7 million to build ($330 million today) and features 70 rooms with platinum leaf, Baccarat crystal, and imported marble.
- The Preservation Society of Newport County bought the property for $365,000 in 1972, less than Vanderbilt had paid for the land in 1885.
- Nearly 450,000 visitors tour The Breakers annually, making it Rhode Island’s most visited attraction.
A Legacy Reimagined
The story of The Breakers isn’t just about wealth or architecture—it’s about transformation. A wooden summer cottage becomes a marble palace. A private family home becomes a public museum. And now, a long-hidden third floor opens to the world for the first time. The Vanderbilt mansion Rhode Island built as a monument to Gilded Age ambition continues to evolve, revealing new layers of history with each passing year. The family apartments, once the domain of descendants who summered in privacy, now invite visitors to see the Breakers not as a time capsule, but as a living home—where the Vanderbilts, like everyone else, ate breakfast, read newspapers, and watched the waves break against the rocky shore below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Breakers open to the public year-round?
Yes, The Breakers is open year-round for tours, though hours vary by season. Special experiences like the Beneath The Breakers tour and the new Third Floor preservation tour are available daily by appointment, with times subject to seasonal schedules .
How much does it cost to tour The Breakers?
General admission pricing varies. Special tours like the Beneath The Breakers and Third Floor tours may have separate ticketing. During the holiday season, the Sparkling Lights event has timed-entry tickets priced at $45 for adults, with discounted rates for Preservation Society members .
How many rooms does The Breakers have?
The Breakers has approximately 70 rooms, including 48 bedrooms for family and staff, along with 27 fireplaces . The third-floor family apartments contain additional living quarters that were occupied by Vanderbilt descendants until 2018.
Why is it called The Breakers?
The mansion is named for the way ocean waves break against the rocky cliffs on the property’s shoreline. The house sits on 13 acres overlooking Easton Bay and the Atlantic Ocean .
Can I visit other Vanderbilt mansions in Newport?
Yes. The Preservation Society of Newport County operates several historic properties, including Marble House, which was built for William Kissam Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilt mansion Rhode Island visitors can tour includes both The Breakers and Marble House, each offering a distinct experience .
When was The Breakers designated a National Historic Landmark?
The Breakers was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994 . It is also a contributing property to the Bellevue Avenue Historic District.
A New Chapter in a Storied History
The opening of the third-floor apartments marks a turning point for this Vanderbilt mansion Rhode Island has cherished for generations. For the first time, visitors can experience the full arc of the Breakers story—from the staggering opulence of the Gilded Age to the quiet, lived-in reality of a family who never fully left. Whether you’re planning your first visit or returning to see what’s changed, the Breakers offers something new: a chance to walk through history, one floor at a time.
Plan your visit to The Breakers and the Newport Mansions today. Book tickets online at newportmansions.org and explore the newly opened third-floor family apartments—before the restoration transforms them forever.
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