Lizzie Borden Society Forum

I know you guys are waiting for some stories of our trip and pictures.
I just downloaded my camera shots late tonight, and will put up 2 real quick- not in order.

But one is Newport - The Breakers gift shop- so pretty but no photos allowed. I got one before finding out. They said OK but no more.

And Harry seems to have captured an orb on my camera!
See what you think.
More trip pics mon-yanna.

The Breakers gift shop, in Newport. It was endless! Like 4 shops connected.
BTW: Every man I saw looked the same! They all wear caps and windbreakers and are real tall, kind of big-boned and white haired.

Harry got 3 shots before we knew of the ban. We had started in the gift shop because I wanted a rest room.

Harry should show the portraits!

Very dim orb, but cool catch :D

Only one word describes the Breakers - AWESOME. It really cannot be described adequately without photos of the interior. Excessive in many respects but truly majestic.

Before we knew we weren't allowed to take photos inside I had snapped these 3 paintings in a hallway leading from the gift shop to the rest rooms. The first is of a young Doris Duke, the tobacco heiress. The last two I presume were Vanderbilts. Just a guess though. The paintings were for sale.

The Breakers! What a place! When we get rich, I think I'll buy it. Oh, to dream of having that much money. So glad you guys had fun!

Joe and all, we had absolutely a great time. Lee-ann and Shelley were fantastic hosts. We had no definite schedule but we were still able to cram in all we wanted to see on this trip. A stay at the house and a trip to Newport are a MUST. Here's some views I shot of the Breakers from the back lawn. That lawn is HUGE. Would hate to have to mow it. And just to prove we were standing on it I shot the last photo shown here of the cliff walk. It was a real windy day but there were some brave souls out on the walk. I'll put the photos on 3 separate posts.

Three more views of the Breakers from the back and side:

This one was shot from a distance on the back lawn. A section of the cliff walk:

Wow! Your pictures are superior to mine! So glad you took a lot! After looking at mine last night I seem to find I have an inordinate fascination with Borden closets!
I'd love to see pics of the other place we went in Newport!

Great pix, Harry! I love that place. Brings back fond memories of living in New England. So peaceful --- except when a Nor'easter is blowing.

Wow! what a beautiful place!! Why won't they allow pictures taken of the inside?

Here are two more. The first one shows the waves breaking against the shore. We were told this is how the Breakers got its name. The second shows Kat in front of the children's playhouse. This is the only house we could afford. Unfortunately it was closed and we were not able to see the inside. It pretty much was a full size house that us commoners could live in easily.

shakiboo @ Sun May 20, 2007 9:22 am wrote:Wow! what a beautiful place!! Why won't they allow pictures taken of the inside?

I imagine it would slow up the tours if everyone was allowed to stop and take photos. But I sure wish we could have. Like Maplecroft they also want to preserve the mystique. The tour at the Breakers was about an hour long and it covered only a part of a few floors.

The first room you see is the Great Room. Just imagine a room 50 feet wide, 50 feet long and 50 feet high. HUGE! Ornate columns, walls and ceiling; beautiful rugs and paintings. Very rich looking. The room is roped off though so you can't enter it. You'll strain your neck just looking up at the ceiling.

They show you 3 or 4 bedrooms (anyone of which was as large as my duplex apartment), private baths, the dining room, the breakfast room, the morning room, the billiards room, the music room, the kitchen and others I can't think of offhand. Wear walking shoes if you go. With my bad back I was TIRED at the end of it.

Here is my one shot of The Breakers. I was shooting thru the fence behind from the Cliff Walk.
I think the building is crooked! Someone should fix that.

Wow, some of these pix are better than the brochures offer! For conservation reasons, no photography is allowed, flash light from cameras, over time on such a great scale would cause damage to paintings and textiles- but mainly the mansions want to sell their own postcards and videos of the places to raise money for the incredibly high upkeep of these places- and to pay the staff. If eveyone could take pictures, nobody would buy merchandise. There was a time when photos were not allowed at Second Street.

Wonderful photos Harry and Kat ! Amazing !





Tracy...

This booklet is published by The Preservation Society of Newport County, MCMXLV.
This is the dining room.
Harry says that's why the High Society women had long swan necks: it was from gazing at their ceilings.

When we first entered this room and Harry saw all of the chairs set back in a line from the table he said in an aside to me: "Are those there for the people to sit and watch while the family eats?" (with a little impish glint in his eye...)

Yes, Harry was taking great photos!

Here is my pic of Cliff Walk at Ruggles St., to the right- away from The Breakers.
We had wanted to take the Walk, but it was blowing about 30 knots constantly and the temp was about 49 degrees. I thought it might snow!

That's a great shot, Kat. The view is magnificent.

While at the house we met forum member, dasdeeboot. It was great to meet him (Jason) and spend some time chatting about the case with him.

He was there the night we met Donald Woods as well. Lee-Ann, Donald, Jason, Kat and I spent several hours in the pahlor discussing the case. That was enjoyable and informative.

How Lee-ann finds the time to do so much amazes me. She was always doing something. She even made breakfast for the guests one morning when Dave, the regular cook, had the day off. She makes a mean johnny cake!

Can't say enough about Dave Quigley. A real class guy and he starts your day off with a gentle knock on your door announcing that it's time for breakfast. And he can cook!

This was not my first stay at the house and if my back stays in reasonably good shape hopefully it will not be my last. As I said before a stay at the house is a MUST.

Yea was a very interesting night, It was really nice meeting you both :D

Great pics you guys. Glad to hear you had an awesome time. I haven't done the cliff walk in awhile. I wonder who's energy orb is hovering near you Kat? Nice pictures of you Kat and I think that "playhouse" is especially suited for your Newport "summer" home. Sorry to hear about your back Harry. I hope it holds up for years to come. Keep the pictures and the stories comming. I love to hear about your adventures in Lizzieland.

WOW! These pics are absolutely beautiful!!! The pics of The Breakers simply take your breath away, and I bet it does when you are actually there. Thank-you Harry and Kat for sharing them with us.

Kat @ Sun May 20, 2007 11:20 am wrote:Yes, Harry was taking great photos!

Here is my pic of Cliff Walk at Ruggles St., to the right- away from The Breakers.
We had wanted to take the Walk, but it was blowing about 30 knots constantly and the temp was about 49 degrees. I thought it might snow!

It's a nice walk. Couple of things though. First, that nice little path sort of comes to an end as you get to the end of the Cliff walk. You end up having to go over some rocks and the footings not as good. Nothing difficult but you do have to watch your step a bit. Also, once you get to the end the only way back is to either have a car waiting there for you or walk all the way back. I walked to the end and just turned around and went back the way I came. It takes a couple of hours to do the walk. Also, toward the end is a little tunnel you go through and one house that has been made to have a sort of Chinese look to it.

Oh good -- the slide show has begun! I definitely think if you only go to one house on the Newport tour -- the Breakers is the one to see. It is magnificent. Darn! -- I really wanted the Cliff Walk to be sunny for you guys. I remember the wild roses in bloom and the sun glinting off all those lovely houses on one side and the water on the other....

Oh Harry! Show us the rest of the Newport pics!
I only have 2 more.

Hi Jay!

While in Newport we stopped in at the Tennis Hall of Fame on Bellevue Ave. Needless to say with the wind howling and the temperature in the high 40's there was no one on the court. In the third photo the American flag is actually flying upside down due to the wind and I was in a short sleeve shirt as the weather reports predicted temperatures in the 80's.

That's a cool place. Great pictures! Better than my one of the grass court. We thought of DWilly while we were there.

They wanted $9 admission to the museum which included the restroom. Otherwise they send you to the restaurant next door. We did the gift shop instead and decided to eat and ended up at Annie's Cafe, 3 doors down. A grilled cheese sandwich cost $4.50. With bacon, $5.50. I think.

This is at the archway to the grounds.

What a great experience! Thanks for the beautiful pics.

Lee-ann comparing profile with Lizzie's portrait on the wall.
This is in the doorway to the sitting room.

Also, toward the end is a little tunnel you go through and one house that has been made to have a sort of Chinese look to it

I remember going through that tunnel, and seeing the Chinese structure. I believe that is a Chinese Tea pagoda that belonged to one of the mansions (I forget which one now - it was about 20 yes ago ). the Tea Pagoda had fallen into disrepair for a number of years. Local kids got to it, and it was covered with graffiti in the inside. At some point, it was restored. I remember they had "before" and "after" photos on the tour, and I remember thinking that the the restoration must have been quite a work of love. [/b]

Harry and the front door of 92 and the staircase and Lizzie's dress (Photoshopped)

I'm sorry kfactor- I missed seeing your post there.

The Japanese Tea House belongs to the "Marble House" estate.

Thanks for the explanation. Since I put a new pic up kfactor's post was out of context.

I have closets to put up now.

Wow, lovely pics, Kat and Harry, thanks for sharing! Sounds like you two had a wonderful time despite the weather! Glad that you are both back, safe and sound, and with us on the Forum again.

That little Chinese Pagoda house was built by Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt behind Marble House. She had her suffragette tea parties in it with special white china with Votes for Women in blue on it. Alva was quite a gal!

Speaking of Alva: William K. Vanderbilt floated a 285 foot, $500,000 steam yacht in 1887, which he named The Alva, after his wife. It sunk. (July 1892).
William K. and Alva, his wife, divorced in 1895.
The Hatchet, Vol. 3, Issue 2, "Jay Gould's Yacht," by Kat Koorey.

Borden Closets!

Dining room- just inside the doorway from the sitting room.

Borden Closets!

This is on the inside of the front hall closet. There is a keyhole! The keyhole is also on the front. I thought this was a bit odd. I hadn't noticed it before.

More Borden closets!
This is the sitting room closet under the stairs. There seems to be some kind of wall patch there near the lower right.

Harry's room: "The Knowlton Room" in the north west attic.

More Borden Closets!
"The Knowlton Room" closet.

Too bad we don't know for sure that the key plate on the inside of the front entry closet was there in 1892. I suspect a locksmith might be able to estimate a date. Oh! I should have moved some of the stuff out of the sitting room closet if I had known you wanted to take photos, Kat. Well, at least we are sure the television and DVD player were not there in 1892.

The Bridget Closet!

The Bridget Closet- "tank"- the metal rods to the right are modern and separate- they are a clothes hanging contraption.

The Bridget Closet- tank- inside view
It looks like a toilet tank- and I don't understand it.

The Bridget room closet tank, more detail.
(End of closets).

The closet tank in bridget's room was always explained to me as a device for collecting rainwater from off the roof. We have wondered if that is the pipe which appears in the chimney flue downstairs in the cellar, which empties into the washing cauldron in the washroom.