Beechwood (mansion)
Encyclopedia
Beechwood is a Gilded Age
estate located on Bellevue Avenue
in Newport, Rhode Island
.
and Calvert Vaux
, it later became the summer estate of the Astor family
, before moving in, Mrs Astor hired Architect Richard Morris Hunt to do many renovations including the addition of a ballroom to fit the famous "The Four Hundred
". Beechwood became the show place for many of Mrs. Astor's dinner parties. Beechwood also boasts a library, dinning room and a music room with wall paper imported from Paris. Once Mrs Astor passed away she left it to her son John Jacob Astor IV
, who married his second wife Madeleine in its ballroom. Once John passed he left it to Madeleine, who turned the entire third floor into her own personal walk-in closet; after she died it was turned into Newport's only living history museum and featured actors portraying the daily lives of those who inhabited, ran and cared for the estate. While run as a tourist attraction, the estate was marketed as Astors' Beechwood Mansion
During off-season months (February to May), servants of the Astor family provided tours of the estate as if they are still living in 1891. Visitors were considered to be "applicants" for a summer job on Mrs. Astor's staff, and may "apply" for any job they wish. Positions include: gardener, footman, butler, chef
, housemaid, and many others. During the summer months while the Astor family is living in the mansion, Astor family members gave tours to guests as though they are members of the family's social circle, "The 400". Everyone living and working in the mansion believe it to be 1891 and act in character throughout the tour.
The tour included two sides of the house: first, the family's side where the Astor's lived, and second, the servants side, which included kitchens and servants quarters, as well as an area for the children to live. Children of the family lived with the servants until the age of 17, when they were considered adults and fully prepared for social functions. Children of the family were quickly wed at the age of 18, or as soon as possible after reaching 18.
In January of 2010 the Beechwood Theatre Company was disbanded and the property was sold for 10.5 million to an anonymous buyer. Virtually no employees were informed of who this anonymous buyer was, leaving the actors of the former theatre company unemployed and other long-time employees in limbo. Oracle Corp founder Lawrence Ellison, a yachtsman described as the fourth richest man in the world, has apparently purchased the fabled mansion. Ellison, who was in Newport during the summer of 2009 for training with his BMW/Oracle Racing, is linked to a deed filed at City Hall that documents the $10.5 million sale of the 39-room estate.
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
estate located on Bellevue Avenue
Bellevue Avenue Historic District
The Bellevue Avenue Historic District is located along and around Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of the mansions built by affluent summer vacationers in the city around the turn of the 20th century, including...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
.
History
Built in 1851 for New York merchant Daniel Parrish by architects Andrew Jackson DowningAndrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing was an American landscape designer, horticulturalist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival style in the United States, and editor of The Horticulturist magazine...
and Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux , was an architect and landscape designer. He is best remembered as the co-designer , of New York's Central Park....
, it later became the summer estate of the Astor family
Astor family
The Astor family is a Anglo-American business family of German descent notable for their prominence in business, society, and politics.-Founding family members:...
, before moving in, Mrs Astor hired Architect Richard Morris Hunt to do many renovations including the addition of a ballroom to fit the famous "The Four Hundred
The Four Hundred
The Four Hundred can refer to:* The oligarchic government controlling Athens after the Athenian coup of 411 BC* The social elite of New York City in the late 19th century; term coined by Ward McAllister, supposedly the number of people Mrs William Backhouse Astor, Jr's ballroom could accommodate*...
". Beechwood became the show place for many of Mrs. Astor's dinner parties. Beechwood also boasts a library, dinning room and a music room with wall paper imported from Paris. Once Mrs Astor passed away she left it to her son John Jacob Astor IV
John Jacob Astor IV
John Jacob Astor IV was an American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish-American War and a member of the prominent Astor family...
, who married his second wife Madeleine in its ballroom. Once John passed he left it to Madeleine, who turned the entire third floor into her own personal walk-in closet; after she died it was turned into Newport's only living history museum and featured actors portraying the daily lives of those who inhabited, ran and cared for the estate. While run as a tourist attraction, the estate was marketed as Astors' Beechwood Mansion
During off-season months (February to May), servants of the Astor family provided tours of the estate as if they are still living in 1891. Visitors were considered to be "applicants" for a summer job on Mrs. Astor's staff, and may "apply" for any job they wish. Positions include: gardener, footman, butler, chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
, housemaid, and many others. During the summer months while the Astor family is living in the mansion, Astor family members gave tours to guests as though they are members of the family's social circle, "The 400". Everyone living and working in the mansion believe it to be 1891 and act in character throughout the tour.
The tour included two sides of the house: first, the family's side where the Astor's lived, and second, the servants side, which included kitchens and servants quarters, as well as an area for the children to live. Children of the family lived with the servants until the age of 17, when they were considered adults and fully prepared for social functions. Children of the family were quickly wed at the age of 18, or as soon as possible after reaching 18.
In January of 2010 the Beechwood Theatre Company was disbanded and the property was sold for 10.5 million to an anonymous buyer. Virtually no employees were informed of who this anonymous buyer was, leaving the actors of the former theatre company unemployed and other long-time employees in limbo. Oracle Corp founder Lawrence Ellison, a yachtsman described as the fourth richest man in the world, has apparently purchased the fabled mansion. Ellison, who was in Newport during the summer of 2009 for training with his BMW/Oracle Racing, is linked to a deed filed at City Hall that documents the $10.5 million sale of the 39-room estate.