What was the Gilded Age?

The Gilded Age comes alive with engaging audio tours of life in the Newport Mansions. From the soaring marble columns that greet you at Marble House to the platinum wall panels at The Breakers, immerse yourself in these social and architectural landmarks. Hear the fascinating stories of people who lived and worked in these grand houses.

The Gilded Age, approximately 1870-1910, was a period of unprecedented change in America. The expansion of industry and transportation – and the lack of an income tax – gave rise to a new wealthy class of people with names like Vanderbilt, Morgan, Ford, Carnegie and Rockefeller. Massive fortunes were made very quickly and spent on lavish lifestyles.

Gilded Age pageantry was nowhere more on display than at the spectacular “summer cottages” of the Newport Mansions, where the new millionaires sought to outshine each other at balls, banquets, carriage parades, concerts, sporting events and other entertainments. Constructed at the height of the Gilded Age, The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms and Rosecliff reflect their owners’ obsession with social status and emulation of European aristocracy.

Not everyone was impressed by the newly rich. They were shunned by the “old money” members of New York society, who considered them invaders. It was a battle that would last for years.

Despite tremendous economic growth and the expansion of the workforce, the gap between rich and poor became ever wider during this period. The term “Gilded Age,” coined by Mark Twain, refers to the thin veneer of wealth that covered a less attractive reality. Yet this period marks the beginning of America’s development into a prosperous, growing, innovative, modern nation.