Transcripts For CSPAN3 The Breakers The Gilded Age 20180217

Great hall. 50 feet wide, 50 feet high. And it is highly ornamented with lots of carvings. The symbol of the vanderbilt family can be seen everywhere. The acorn and the oakley. Which meant strength and longevity. And you will find the acorn and the oakleaf all throughout the house. So that was the theme of the family. And there were all sorts and kinds of marble, a lot of ornamentation. This house is supposed to look like an italian palace. They wanted to make a statement that, indeed, they had succeeded, that they had met the pinnacle, and that they were able to do what they could with their resources and they wanted to create fine homes that were in the style of european mansions. It was built by Richard Morris hunt, the preeminent architect of the time. He was the First American to study at the ecole des beaux artes in paris, and he was the hottest architect of the period. To hire hunt meant that you would have a great showpiece to put on display. And he worked very closely with the vanderbilt family in creating this room, the great hall, and all of the other rooms we are going to see today. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt was the patriarch of the family. And he started out with a little boat, and over the years grew his business into a thriving steamboat business. The family then went into the Railroad Business. His grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt, built the breakers. Cornelius and his wife alice settled here in the 1880s. Their first house, the first breakers burned down. They built this and, starting in 1892, and it was finished in 1895. The gilded age started in the 1870s, 1880s, theres debate about this and ran to the 1920s, 1930s. And it was a time when those entrepreneurs were really showing their wares. They did phenomenally well financially. In this case, Cornelius Vanderbilt and his family were famous for first being a steamboat business and then being in the Railroad Business and they connected new york to chicago. So, they changed this country dramatically. And they created houses like this one. The very rich of that time chose newport for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons, however, was that it was perfect from a climate perspective. Many people came from the south escaping the heat, escaping malaria, disease, escaping the civil war. There were a variety of reasons, and newport had been a Tourist Destination from the 1830s. Even earlier than that. And so it just continued to snowball into the destination for the rich. And it continues today to be a place where people who have a little bit of means come. The weather is beautiful, the sailing is great. There are lots of opportunities for people to enjoy themselves and relax, and why not newport . These houses were second houses or third houses. They were built as summer cottages. And so, those people who were coming to newport were coming for no more than two months at a time. And they were all part of the same social set. So they spent much of their time together during the day. Maybe playing tennis, enjoying coaching, visiting with one another, going to baileys beach. And then at night, there were parties, there were dinners, there were festivities of all sorts. So, they, as a summer community, that group of people spent their time together. The local people came here and worked, and so there was a distinct difference between the workers and then the people who owned the houses. The breakers is a 70 room house. So you can imagine it needed a lot of people working here. And the numbers we think are right are somewhere between 3842 people who worked on a fulltime basis during the summer months when the vanderbilts were here in residence. And then there were people who checked in during the winter months. And its very interesting because newport still to this day has people from both sectors. People whose families worked in these houses are still around. And then people whose families built these houses and lived in these houses are still around as well. So, we see a little more movement going on today, of course, than we did back then. But its a very interesting dynamic. We are in the music room of the breakers. And as you can see, its absolutely gorgeous. And if you look at the ceilings, you can see the tribute that is paid to music with the words melody in french. A number of names of different musicians are memorialized on the ceiling. The thing that you certainly know that this is gilded because there is a lot of gilding in this room. The original piano of the vanderbilts was here. It wouldve been a room that was used, it is called a music room for a purpose. This is where people entertained themselves from the musical perspective. Its where dances were held. And, of course, this coffered ceiling was not just the gild but also the silver or platinum color is extraordinary and the colors in general are soft. Its a lovely, lovely room. The story that im always struck by about the music room is that of Gertrude Vanderbilt, who married harry whitney. She became Gertrude Vanderbilt whitney. And Gertrude Vanderbilt whitney is the woman who went on to become of tremendous collector of american artists, a great advocate for american art. And she tried to give her unbelievable collection of american art to the met, and even offered a great deal of money to the met to have them build a wing to house her art collection. And the metropolitan museum of art turned her down. And thank goodness for that because the Whitney Museum today exists because of Gertrude Vanderbilt whitney who said, ok, you dont want my collection. I will start a museum of my own. And as you know, the Whitney Museum is now one of the best collections of modern art anywhere in the world. And it all started because of Gertrude Vanderbilt whitney who got married here in this room. She was one of the most fascinating women. She did not cotton to all of the social amenities of the gilded age. She was an independent sort, and she knew early on in her life that she was prone to be interested in the arts. And in fact, studied art very carefully, became a sculpture is sculptress in her own right and many of her pieces can be seen around the world in new york and other places. And so, she was not only a sculptress in her own right, but also a collector of art. She just had a phenomenal eye. She was able to identify who were the emerging american artists who needed to be paid attention to and supported. So, she mentored them, if you will, and gave them a safe place. She started a studio, if you will, for artists to practice their wares and helped in so many ways. And all of that led to her growing collection of art, which resulted in the founding of the Whitney Museum. One of the things we should remember is that this house was built in under two years. So, its a 70 room mansion, also summer cottage. And many people ask how could it ever have been built in two years . And then, how could it have been decorated in a way that you see today in that period of time . The music room and the morning room were both made in france. Carved, gilded in france. The room was then deconstructed, put onto a ship, sent to this country, brought to newport and reconstructed here in the breakers. So, that is one way in which the house was able to be finished in the two year period that it was finished in, which is extraordinary. So, i think that we are going to now go into the morning room. And again, this is a room that was built in europe and brought to the united states. And it is as lavish and as gilded and as magnificently beautiful as you can imagine. You see the walls that look like silver, and for years, we thought, how come that silver never tarnishes, or is it tin or is it some other metal . Several years ago we had some conservators come to newport and we discovered it is not silver. It is, indeed, platinum. So, this is a platinum room. This is called the morning room, and it is exactly that. It is where the family and their guests and their friends were gathered to discuss the days activities. Maybe you would read the paper and drink a cup of coffee. Maybe you would write a note to a friend. Maybe you would read a book or maybe you would just chat about how the day would be spent. But it was a room that enjoyed views of the sea. And it enjoyed the morning light. And so, it has unfortunately, because its a foggy day today, you cant get that feel of the morning, but that is the way this room was used. I think the thing that strikes me about this room is really the founding of the Preservation Society, because countess deschenes, who is the direct descendent of cornelius and alice vanderbilt, had a friendship with others in newport in the 1940s. A woman named Catherine Warren founder the Preservation Society. And she founded it with the idea of saving a house on the waterfront in newport in the point section, house that was built in the 1740s called hunter house. And it is a magnificent house. And the worry was that it was going to be disassembled and put on display at the metropolitan museum of art. And nobody in newport wanted that to happen. This was our Architectural Heritage. We didnt want to lose our Architectural Heritage to another city. So, a group of women under the leadership of our founder Catherine Warren gathered together, bought the house, restored the house and then furnished it. And then at some point in time, catherine met with countess deschenes and discussed the idea of opening up the first floor of the breakers to public tours. They would charge 1. 00 a tour. And the money raised from that touring opportunity would go for the saving of hunter house. So, her, countess deschenes act, was a tremendous act of generosity and philanthropy to open up his house to the public. And if you can imagine, the house was built in the 1890s. Were opening it up in the 1940s. Even in that first summer that the house was opened, tens of thousands of people came to see it, because everybody was curious to see a house as big as the breakers. And it is amazing to me to think that today, i wonder if, when they conceived this idea in the 1940s, did they have any idea that by 2017, more than 21 Million People would walk through the doors of the breakers . I doubt that they had that vision, but certainly all of us have benefited, because of their great act. And then in the early 1970s, the Preservation Society had the opportunity to buy the house from the vanderbilt family. We bought it at market value, and it has been in our loving care ever since then. And its an enormous house as you can see to take care of. We do the very best we can. This painting is of Cornelius Vanderbilt. It is the only John Singer Sargent portrait anywhere newport. The Preservation Society had the unbelievable fortune several years ago of acquiring this portrait that was painted in 1890. And so, we grabbed that opportunity, and now we are hanging it probably. We dont where it hung in the breakers originally. There are many different opinions but this was the man who built the house. Well, this is truly a magnificent room. It is the dining room of the breakers. And, again 50 feet high. The chandeliers are by bacharat. They standout. One of the interesting things, this house, it was built in the 1890s, 18921895 it was at that period in time where people were wondering whether electricity was the thing. And so, these chandeliers were powered not only by electricity but also by gas, just in case this idea of electricity didnt work. And in fact, there is a wonderful letter that mr. Vanderbilt wrote to his friends about having meetings to discuss this idea that this man named Thomas Edison has, and maybe we should invest in the concept of electricity. So, they were hedging their bets by having both gas and electricity. The dining room table can be extended to accommodate 32 people. So, all of the chairs from the original dining room are here. And the table is not set for 32 right now, but you can imagine, it just swelling up and what a great celebratory moment it would be to be at a dinner party of 32 people. And, as you can see, everything every single piece of sculpture is life sized. And, again, you have no doubt about the fact that you are in a real palace when you are in the dining room. Not unlike many that you have seen in europe. Bringing back the spirit of european architecture. And, of course, gilded as it could be. And in this was a room that was used for entertaining purposes. Were told that the family ate most of its meals in the morning in the breakfast room. And the dining room was used for the really fancy functions that were put on by the family. One of the things that the Preservation Society is known for is its preservation of buildings and certainly that consumes an enormous amount of time. We had to restore the breakers several years ago and replaced 35,000 tiles on the roof. And all of the chimneys were leaning more than they should. So, thats an ongoing job for all of us here. But we also spent a large amount of our time conserving. And one example of the conservation effort is this 1600s tapestry that has just been sent. This is a fake. This is not the real tapestry. But it has just been sent to belgium where it is being conserved. It had been put on the walls of the breakers in the 1890s, in 1895. And it had never come off this wall until about a month ago. And you can imagine we were terrified. Would it all disintegrate and fall into dust into the air . Fortunately, it all rolled up beautifully and has been sent off for its conservation. It will take several months to get it conserved. Well have it back again, and in all its glory. We are very excited about that. But that is a very Important Mission of the Preservation Society taking care of the buildings and keeping them in the best shape we can and then taking care of the objects inside the buildings. I think whats so incredible about this room is its supposed to look like a european palace. It would be in europe perhaps an open aired feeling. In our case, because of the weather, we have a painted ceiling that signifies that we are in the open air but, of course, its not an italian palazzo. We are in newport, rhode island, and it snows here. They had to make accommodations. I think the room the thing that stands out the most is the ornate carvings and the gilding and the size. Those are the things that really leave the impression they do. This is the room that they would have certainly greeted people. This is the room that, when parties are being held, you would gather people together. You might have dances in the music room, you might have dances in this room as well. So, this is the center of the house. This is the place where everybody passes through all day long. And it would have had seating areas and it wouldve had been then opened up for parties. And just a multifunctional room, i guess you could say. A lot of the furniture in the breakers itself is original. It came from the vanderbilt family. Almost all of it, in fact, is original. And we own the majority of objects in the Preservation Society owns the majority of objects in the building. There are a few things that are on loan and then a few things that are just loaned to us by the family but the majority of objects in the breakers are original. And i think that is what makes it even more special. So when we have opportunities to get that painting that John Singer Sargent painting of Cornelius Vanderbilt that had disappeared and is now back again, we grabbed those opportunities because thats the way we can best tell the story of the house and what it looks like. So, the gilded age, its end is also debatable. We can say 1920, 1930, but i think one of the stakes in the heart of the gilded age was the imposition of an income which income tax which radically changed the way that americans could live and, all of a sudden, a part of their wealth was going to government. That then prevented them from ploughing a lot of their wealth into houses like this and also the maintenance of houses. And i think world war i changed the complexion of this country and changed the complexion of newport. And then after world war i, people were living different lifestyles. And so, trying to find the kind of, the numbers of staff people that were needed to manage a house like this became different. Women were going into the workforce. And so for a lot of different reasons, the gilded age began to dwindle down. But it really started in the 19teens, and then came to a final conclusion in the 1920s and 1930s. Although, some newport hosts and hostesses managed to live in the gilded age style until the early 1960s. And one of them was julia berwin, who owned the elms. And she continued to manage that house in the style of the gilded age until her death in the early 1960s. What happened to these homes after the gilded age is really a very sad story for newport. Some of the houses were completely abandoned by the families. Some of the houses mysteriously burned down. Some of them just were torn down. A variety of things happened. They have, over the years, become condominiumized. Some of the houses that were condominiumized are now going back into being Single Family houses so, there has been a lot of change. We wrote a book called lost newport. In that book, it identifies more than 40 houses as large as the elms and marble house that are lost forever and ever because of the change in society in this country. The Preservation Society of Newport County is a Nonprofit Organization Whose Mission is to take care of 11 historic houses. The first and oldest was built in the 1740s. The most recent is rose cliff which was built in 1902. So we really span more than 250 years of architectural history. And if you are interested in aif interested in architecture and art, domestic architecture and art, this is the place to go because you can see it all here. Its in walking distance. We are supported by 38,000 members. Last year, we gave 1 million tours. So, you can see there is a great interest in American History, and american architecture. At least people are coming to see our houses. And we have grown over the years certainly. And we have grown our collection of houses due to a variety of different circumstances. Some have been given to us, some have been bought. But here we are with 11 houses that truly are remarkable, and they are authentic. They were not moved or built like other historic sites. These are houses that were lived in and they were partied in and they were worked in. And you can, i think, when you are in any of our houses feel a little bit of the spirit of the past here. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] on American History tv, on to cspan3, former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder at virginia commonwealth university. I have a oneword word definition i use for politics. That is just one word to define politics. Money. Give me something that is a proposition for any tribunal that does not involve money. Announcer sunday, from the west oral history,f senator hank thomas, a veteran during the vietnam war. Announcer my father served in world war ii. Served, it was your military service you hoped would confirm your bona fides as a firstclass redblooded american citizen entitled. Announcer at 4 00 p. M. On railamerica, with the cpac conference in washington, d c, we look back to 1988 when reagan spoke at a dinner. Announcer the america does the American People know what privatization have meant. I can guarantee they will not want to throw that away from for a return to the Liberals National interest. Announcer watch America National tv every weekend on cspan3