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Outside around The Breakers Mansion.
The Breakers is a Vanderbilt mansion located on Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, United States on the Atlantic Ocean. It is a National Historic Landmark, a contributing property to the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, and is owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport County.
The Breakers was built as the Newport summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy United States Vanderbilt family. Designed by renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt and with interior decoration by Jules Allard and Sons and Ogden Codman, Jr., the 70-room mansion boasts approximately 65,000 sq ft (6,000 m2). of living space. The home was constructed between 1893 and 1895 at a cost of more than $7 million (approximately $150 million in today's dollars adjusted for inflation). The Ochre Point Avenue entrance is marked by sculpted iron gates and 30-foot (9.1 m) high walkway gates are part of a 12-foot-high limestone and iron fence that borders the property on all but the ocean side. The 250' x 120' dimensions of the five-story mansion are aligned symmetrically around a central Great Hall.
Part of a 13-acre (53,000 m²) estate on the seagirt cliffs of Newport, it sits in a commanding position that faces east overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
At first I was wondering what this lonely circuit breaker in the corridor was supposed to be good for. later I found out that is used to switch on and off the boiler for th hot water.
The ultimate in conspicuous consumption by the Gilded Age robber barons. This was a 'summer cottage'. It dates from 1895.
This is a 12 volt circuit breaker and relay panel I built several years ago that I never got around to installing. The white strip at the top of the photos is vinyl tape, which covers the "hot" copper busbar.
The black cubes at the bottom are relays, which are much more robust and long lasting for switching high amperage currents than ordinary toggle or rotary switches. The black wire connecting each relay is a common ground. The slightly larger relay at the far left is rated at 40 amps.
Note how each machine screw is long enabling double nuts for mechanical security.
The large gap in the middle of the panel is designed to accommodate all the wiring attached to the relays and breakers.
A beautiful resort in Palm Beach.
Be sure to read The Purple Passport's review of The Breakers on the website!
To discover more of our travels in Palm Beach, see our blog at diary.thepurplepassport.com. Or, find more of our comprehensive city guides at www.thepurplepassport.com.
The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America.
Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late 19th century.
The Commodore's grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, became Chairman and President of the New York Central Railroad system in 1885, and purchased a wooden house called The Breakers in Newport during that same year. In 1893, he commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a villa to replace the earlier wood-framed house which was destroyed by fire the previous year. Hunt directed an international team of craftsmen and artisans to create a 70 room Italian Renaissance- style palazzo inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin. Allard and Sons of Paris assisted Hunt with furnishings and fixtures, Austro-American sculptor Karl Bitter designed relief sculpture, and Boston architect Ogden Codman decorated the family quarters.
The Vanderbilts had seven children. Their youngest daughter, Gladys, who married Count Laszlo Szechenyi of Hungary, inherited the house on her mother's death in 1934. An ardent supporter of The Preservation Society of Newport County, she opened The Breakers in 1948 to raise funds for the Society. In 1972, the Preservation Society purchased the house from her heirs. Today, the house is designated a National Historic Landmark.
Visit my BLOG to “Take a Peek Inside the Huber Breaker Ruins”:
cherisundra.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/peek-inside-the-hube...
Side profile of the summer "cottage" of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II. This is the most impressive of all the Newport mansions. It is truly magnificent!
More info here: www.newportmansions.org/explore/the-breakers