The David B. and Pamela Ford Lecture
Newport Mansions: The Age of Opulence
Architect, author and historian Gary Lawrance will explore the grand architecture of Newport, reflective of the city’s height as the destination for society’s summer sojourns. By the 1890s, the great wealth generated by the Industrial Revolution enabled the creation of a new American architectural trend: opulence. Inspired by centuries-old European estates, the new Newport mansions were the pleasure palaces of American Royalty. As the “Queen of Resorts,” Newport and its houses came to define the Gilded Age.
Live at Marble House or via Zoom video conference
Gary Lawrance, architect, author and historian
Gary Lawrance is an architect, author and historian from Stony Brook, New York. In 1982 he completed his architectural thesis about the Gold Coast mansions of Long Island’s North Shore. Lawrance has an extensive background in the history of Gilded Age architecture, landscapes, and society, and co-authored the bestselling book “Houses of the Hamptons 1880-1930” with Anne Surchin (Acanthus Press 2007). Lawrance has written for Architectural Digest, Dan’s Papers and Quest. He also founded, manages and contributes to the social media sites “Mansions of the Gilded Age” and “The Gilded Age Society” on Facebook and Instagram, with a combined following of more than half a million.
More Tours, Events & Exhibitions
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Beneath The Breakers Tour
Daily
10:00am
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
Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour
Daily
12 pm and 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.
Servant Life Tour
Daily
10 am and 2 pm
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
Inside “The Gilded Age” Tour
May 2 – June 27, 2025
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.
