By any measure, 1929 was not an auspicious year…except, perhaps, in Newport. For that was the year that an exquisite version of the hunting lodge at Versailles, La Lanterne, was designed… Read More
Summer is just around the corner, when friends return from all parts of the country and houses are “opened for the season.” One of those homes has been beautifully readied… Read More
Welcome to 2021! Perhaps for you, as it is for me, reminiscing is part of a new year ritual and I now find myself remembering back with great sentiment to… Read More
Every Christmas has its signature. This year, not knowing what draconian measure or which “pause” we were honoring, I hadn’t done much planning for decorations. But one thing I knew… Read More
What is more joy-filled than a fifteen foot Christmas tree of live, brilliant red poinsettias?! Newport’s own legendary creation takes pride-of-place in the Great Hall of The Breaker’s, obviously deserving… Read More
In spite of 2020 being an “annus horribilis” (to quote Queen Elizabeth) we’ve made it to the merry month of December. So I say, with a nod to rhythm and… Read More
My friend, Ron Fleming, is a Renaissance man in the truest sense of the word–writer, city planner, preservationist, inveterate traveler, philanthropist and all ’round Bon Vivant. And gardener! His talents… Read More
Count on Newport, one of the yachting capitals of the world, to have a singular example of historic nautically-inspired architecture. A hundred plus years later, “Harbour Court” (now the New… Read More
Oakwood has led a charmed life. Built in 1854 as a wedding gift for William Backhouse Astor’s daughter, Mary Alida, (granddaughter of John Jacob Astor). It was one of the earliest… Read More
It is difficult to overstate the fame and influence of the architectural firm McKim, Mead and White–their Newport treasures include Rosecliff as well as Berkeley House, our subject for today.… Read More