Gilded Age barons of industry constructed extravagant homes—year-round mansions and summer “cottages”—that were more palaces to their wealth than practical residences. Notable families like the Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Astors once had houses dotted across New York City and throughout fashionable summer retreats like Newport, Rhode Island. Many of these elaborate structures have since fallen to the ravages of time, with the staggering costs of upkeep rendering their use as private residences all but obsolete. Yet, though some of these private homes have disappeared, our curiosity about them has only increased. Since HBO’s hit show The Gilded Age debuted, interest in visiting the era’s architectural marvels has surged, and in Newport, which is home to one of the country’s largest concentrations of Gilded Age mansions, there’s been a steady rise in visitors touring the town’s mansions specifically because of the show.
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