Announcing The Breakers Third Floor
Newport, RI (June 4, 2024)— For the first time in the 129-year history of The Breakers, the private third-floor family space occupied by generations of Vanderbilts will be open for public tours.
The Breakers Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour starts Monday, June 24, and will be offered daily at 3:30 p.m. This is a limited, guide-led experience of private bedrooms, bathrooms and recreational spaces used by the Vanderbilt family and household staff for more than a century.
“The third floor of The Breakers is a historically significant space,” said Trudy Coxe, CEO and Executive Director of The Preservation Society of Newport County, which has owned The Breakers since 1972. “This new tour of private living quarters never seen by the public allows us to provide a more complete story –not only of this iconic property, but also of the family who built it and lived there for generations.”
Visitors also will witness preservation work in action, as the research, planning and physical work to restore these spaces is still in progress. Guests will see floors and walls that have been restored and others that have been left untouched to show the effects of time and the elements. Décor from the 1890s,1940s and later reflects the family’s changing uses of the third floor.
“Work on this space is ongoing, so this will be an evolving experience for visitors,”said Leslie B. Jones, Director of Museum Affairs and Chief Curator for the Preservation Society. “This early incarnation of the tour offers an opportunity to witness the process of preservation. How are decisions made, what applications are best in this case, and why? We are excited to share our approach to this unique project while introducing this area of The Breakers to the public for the first time.”
Tickets for The Breakers Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour are available through www.NewportMansions.org.
The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island, is a nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area’s historic architecture, landscapes, decorative arts and social history. Its 11 historic properties – seven of themNational Historic Landmarks – span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development. For more information, please visit www.NewportMansions.org.
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