The Breakers

The Breakers is another summer home built by the Vanderbilt family, this one by Cornelius Vanderbilt II. While Newport summer homes are commonly referred to as “cottages,” this one is anything but. It has 70 rooms spread over five floors. The Breakers is on the oceanfront, with fences on the other three sides. It is consistently one of the most visited house museums in the United States. Because a previous mansion, owned by Pierre Lorillard IV, on the site burned, Vanderbilt insisted his mansion be fireproof, so steel trusses were used for structural support. When it was completed in 1895, it was the grandest house in Newport.