I was just overwhelmed by the mansions - not just by the size of the estates but the opulence of the interiors. Just absorb this - one mansion called "The Breakers" (owned by the Vanderbilts) for instance is about USD350M worth in market value today! Whoa...
We got a 5-mansion pass for USD23. But if you're planning to visit, better check the schedules online as some of the mansions are closed on some days.
Anyway, here are some interesting things about the mansions I really liked:
Rosecliff Mansion. Its ballroom has been used in several movies since the 1970s. Among them are Betsy (starring Sir Laurence Olivier); the Great Gatsby (starring Robert Redford); Amistad (starrring Anthony Hopkins and directed by Spielberg - the tour guide said that when Spielberg visited this mansion, he just said that it had to be the White House's ballroom in Amistad); True Lies and more recently, 27 Dresses.
The Breakers. Built in 1895, this was owned by the Vanderbilts (who donated it later on to the Preservation Society).
Other wow facts:
- It has 27 fireplaces
- It has 70+rooms (33 of which are for servants)
- At the time the owners lived there, they had 40 servants - 20 servants for indoor and 20 for outdoor.
- Some sections of the mansion have 22 carat gold embossing on the ceiling.
- There's a separate room for merely plating the food (its kitchen is just for cooking)
- There's a section for cutting and arranging fresh flowers as the servants need to supply the rooms with fresh flowers everyday.
- Silverware is kept in a safe (as big as a bank vault!)
- The bath tub has 2 sets of taps - 1 set for freshwater and 1 set for saltwater
- Lights are dual-powered - by electricity and gas because power outages were common at that time.
P.S. Did you know that Anderson Cooper is a Vanderbilt? Ok, I didn't until the tour guide told us while we were in the room of Cooper's grandfather, Reginald Vanderbilt, who grew up at the Breakers. So this is the summer house of Cooper's great grandparents.
The Elms. In terms of opulence, this is similar to the Breakers. But what's more interesting about this tour is the guide shared more information on how life was at the mansion.
Ladies, for instance, changed clothes 4-7 times a day as it was considered ill-bred if they don't change clothes from breakfast to brunch to lunch to tea to dinner.
During dinner parties, there are certain protocols - like you should initially talk to the person on your right for 15 minutes and when the next course is served, it's time to talk to the person on your left.
When the owners will go to the garden, servants need to make sure that there are no footprints on the path.
Servants have different stairways and hallways hidden in secret doors and walls as they shouldn't be seen by the family (only a selected few like the chef, butler, housekeeper and coachman were allowed to be in contact with the family).
The house has also an intercom system so the butler would know which room needs any assistance - of course, there were shifts 24 hours/day. As you may have noticed, I was more curious in the lives of the servants than the owners since I can more relate to them! Haha...
The 2 other mansions we visited are -
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| Chateau-Sur-Mer |
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| Kingscote |
Super interesing trip! Worth the 6-hour drive (and not just because I wasn't the one driving! haha...).
