National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

The Gilded Age and Country Places
Eclecticism was probably the most apparent common element in American gilded-age
estates, combined with a universal quest for grandeur. Display and consumption became
synonymous with the Gilded Age. The emulation of European models was enhanced by the
acquisition of antiques and treasures from Europe that were prominently displayed in the
houses. Indeed, many of the great gilded-age mansions were decorated with ceilings, paneling,
floors, or even entire rooms from Europe. 103
Collecting art confirmed one's air of wealth, and
the Gilded Age saw many collections formed, some with more knowledge and sensitivity than
others. Even at the time, architectural critics viewed these "connoisseurs" with a suspicious eye:
His desire to be fortified in his purchases by the solid ramparts of a European reputation is
the salient fact about his interest in plastic and decorative art. This is particularly the case
with the sort of things that the American millionaire (and his wife) wants to be surrounded at
home. . . . The consequence is that the houses of rich Americans are filled with the spoils of
European churches and palaces. 104
The owners of gilded-age residences tended to cluster together in specific geographical
areas. Within these areas distinct house forms developed, and the distinctiveness of these forms
was based upon key factors including the area's landscape features, its proximity to New York,
and its place in the set calendar of the social season. These house forms suggest an architectural
typology, which has been employed throughout this study to interpret gilded-age residences.
These residences fall into four basic types: the New York townhouse, the country place, the
seaside cottage, and the vacation house.
The townhouse was sited in the urban streetscape, generally along Fifth Avenue, and it
was used during the winter months when society resided in New York for the opera season.
The country place was sited on land that afforded development of agricultural,
landscape gardening, and recreation components. The country place was used in the spring and
fall and included adequate domestic space for entertaining numerous guests invited for
"country house weekends." The Hudson Valley, Long Island, New Jersey, and the Berkshires
were the favored locations for the country place because of their easy access to railroad lines,
allowing families and guests to arrive in comfort and relative speed from city houses and offices.
The seaside cottage, located in Newport, was sited on a smaller plot of land in the resort
town with small landscaped grounds and no land in agricultural development. 105 Proximity to
the sea including the creation of vistas was the most significant factor in siting the seaside
cottage. The cottages themselves notably lacked domestic space for weekend or seasonal
visitors since penetration of exclusive society required a residence of one's own in town.
Society relocated to Newport during the months of June and July before leaving the demands of
social life for a vacation home in late summer.
Vacation houses were sited in areas offering unspoiled natural settings with
opportunities for country walks, boating, and perhaps hunting. Bar Harbor and the
Adirondacks were two very popular locations for vacation houses. Each offered cooler weather
103
Mathew Josephson, The Robber Barons, The Great American Capitalists, 1861-1901 (New York:
Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934), 332.
104
Croly, "Rich Men and Their Houses," 29-30.
105
It should be noted that some Newport properties had land in agricultural development at some
distance from the cottage itself. For example, the Arthur Curtis James cottage, Beacon Hill, was supplied
with dairy products and vegetables from his Swiss Village Farms also in Newport.
19