Day 2 Marble House where the Duke of Marlborough proposed to Consuelo Vanderbill

 Marble House, which was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt, younger brother of Cornelius, who gave the house as a 39th birthday present to his wife, Alva.  The couple had three children:  Consuelo, who married the 9th Duke of Marlborough, William, and Harold,  a yachtsman who defended America's Cup three times.

William and Alva were divorced in 1895.  She remarried Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and moved into his home, Belcourt, just down the street from Marble House.   She sold Marble House in 1932 to Frederick Prince.  The Preservation Society bought the house in 1963.  It is also a National Historic Monument.

https://www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house

The Gothic Room -- this is where the Duke of Marlborough proposed to Consuelo Vanderbilt.  It was a marriage arranged by her mother, Alva.  Consuelo was in love with (and secretly engaged) Winthrop Rutherfurd but was not allowed to marry him.   This room is not conducive to romance.

the ballroom - where Consuelo and the Duke of Marlborough celebrated their engagement

Consuelo's room as a teenager, chosen by her mother.

trophy room for all of Harald Vanderbilt's yachting accomplishments

a guest bedroom where the Duke of Marlborough stayed,

the boys' bedroom

Alva's votes for women china

the tea house

Beechwood was the home of William Backhouse and Caroline Astor.  The house was open to the public for a number of years.  It is now owned by Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, and it is no longer open for tours.

Rosecliff, once the home of Herman and Theresa Oelrichs.  Opens later in the season

The church where John Fitzgerald Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier

Cornelius and William - the Goats of Goat Island

Lighthouse on Goat Island

Newport also has a nice representation of homes from the 1700s.  A very different style than the 1700s homes in Alexandria, Virginia.

I am told the tomato story is false as tomatoes come from the New world.