I just got back from a short trip to Newport, Rhode Island, USA and thought you all might like to see some of the pictures I took of a some of the ironwork from the “Cottages.”

Here’s the fence around “The Breakers”: (The salt water mist around the back hasn’t been kind to the fence in some places…)

(had to get something in the picture for a sense of scale!)

Here’s the ironwork above the pool table in the “Marble House”: (Yes, every room is covered in marble!)

And finally an interesting fire place set from one of the smaller “Cottages”:

(Sorry, I don’t remember the name of this mansion.)

 

If you have never been, these places a breathtakingly gorgeous, and worth a visit and tour.

I wish I took more pictures, but there was just so much to see…

Keep it Fun,

David

Very impressive!

The iron work looks like the work of Samuel Yellin and company. I have seen the Breakers, only from the water while in the USCG, Stationed at Watch Hill Light Station. Very impressive indeed. Thanks for jogging the old memories.

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~ USCG 1964-1970

The Breakers was constructed between 1893 and 1895, which was the year Yellin first entered his apprenticeship in Ukraine. The gates at The Breakers were made by William H. Jackson & Co. of New York City. Here's an article about the firm:

https://www.waltergrutchfield.net/jacksonwmh.htm

Nice, thanks for posting.

There's an article in today's Epoch Times covering The Breakers built by Alice and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Link not provided per IFI rules, but it is an interesting read with some more great photos (courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County). Knowing nothing of the history, I had assumed this was the work of Cornelius Vanderbilt; the article disagrees...

--Larry

Quote

 

When Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt commissioned Richard Morris Hunt to design Marble House, the result was a marble palace reminiscent of the White House, built over four years. The mortar had barely dried on its completion when Alice and Cornelius, president and chairman of the New York Central Railroad, hired Hunt for an even grander undertaking.

For Alice, it was an implicit challenge. She and Alva had spent nearly two decades as rivals, vying for dominance in Gilded Age New York and Newport society. The rivalry was driven by stark differences in personality: Alva was domineering and fiercely ambitious, while Alice remained the composed and reserved wife of the family patriarch. Their competition found its fullest expression not in drawing rooms or dinner parties, but in stone and marble. What Alice had built in its place—The Breakers—would be their answer to everything Alva had done.

Constructed between 1893 and 1895, The Breakers was modeled after a 16th-century Italian palazzo, with one intention: to surpass Marble House in every measure. Where Marble House had 50 rooms across four floors, The Breakers answered with 70 rooms across five. Where Alva had spent $11 million, Alice spent more than $12 million. Inside, the mansion delivered on every ambition: soaring 50-foot ceilings in the Great Hall, rich marbles, gilded rooms, and interiors layered with ornately carved marble, gilded wood, painted ceilings, statuary, stained glass, and Italian tapestry.

 

 

On 5/15/2026 at 8:27 AM, JHCC said:

which was the year Yellin first entered his apprenticeship in Ukraine.

Thanks for the correction, I should have done some research before posting. Love it when I learn something new, first time hearing about William Jackson & Co. great article bookmarked it.

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~ USCG 1964-1970