The Gilded Age: Scenes from The Elms (and yes! we were there!)

Gladys Russell's bedroom, aka, Mrs. Berwind's bedroom at The Elms

Monday blues have turned into gold with The Gilded Age and we've scored another Newport cottage sighting last week with some interior shots of The Elms.

Tonight is the sixth episode (out nine) this season and every Monday evening since January 24th, we've been plugged into HBO to not only watch the clash of old and new money in late 19th century New York, but also search for familiar "faces and edifices" (as noted in our January 29th blog, Gilded Age, Familiar Faces. . .) that we have met in our travels.  And, last week, we again struck gold as we were reunited with a Newport cottage we visited in 2016:  The Elms!

The marble foyer and staircase

As detailed in the latest The Preservation of Newport County's newsletter, in last week's episode of  The Gilded Age, the second floor of The Elms was featured in a few scenes with Gladys Russell, daughter of nouveau riche parents, George and Bertha.  Gladys is shown walking through the Newport cottage hallway with its "distinctive red wallpaper", then entering her bedroom with housekeeper, Mrs. Bruce. That room, with its gilt and richly upholstered bed taking front and center, belonged to Mrs. Berwind, the wife of Edward Berwind, who made his vast fortune from the coal industry.

Roaming the crimson halls

Looking for Gladys

When my husband, Chris, and I were at The Elms, strolling the crimson halls and climbing the marble staircase, we also took part in the "servants tour".  It's fascinating, as well as a reality check, to see the "other side of the story".  While the design and furnishings are amazing, seeing what it took to keep the household going is just as incredible.

Assisting in the kitchen, part of the downstairs tour

One of the staff's bedrooms

The Elms, although not directly on the ocean, is located on the prestigious Bellevue Avenue, which was almost as important as being on the water. The Newport mansion, built for the Berwinds, was designed by Horace Trumbauer to resemble yet another Paris chateau.

Third floor, staff quarters, view from outside

Ironing room provides a reality check

However, the key to The Elm's design, was to make it look as though it ran by magic. Servants' quarters were hidden behind a brick wall on the third floor (the facade gives the illusion of two stories, but there are actually three) and all staff entries and delivery stops were cleverly shielded by gates, trees and other decorative ornamentation.

The front of The Elms, located on the prestigious Bellevue Avenue

The dwellings, plain or fancy, are as captivating to the tale of The Gilded Age as the characters who live in them.

Whether we're upstairs in the dining room or downstairs in the kitchen, we'll be ready for The Gilded Age tonight. We'll see you there!

Meadow Brook Hall's Downton Days: Another wonderful sold-out afternoon tea with Barb's Tea Service

Barb and Rachel of BTS back at Meadow Brook Downton Days! (Photo from tea in 2017)

Last week, Barb's Tea Service returned to Meadow Brook Hall to be part of one of their annual "Downton Days" events. This was our fifth year partnering with the elegant and historic venue and we were thrilled to be back for afternoon tea with another sold-out crowd!

Donning our 1920's attire for Downton tea

When we last presented, the year was 2020 and we were still in the afterglow of the Downton Abbey movie which premiered in the U.S. in the fall of 2019.  We discussed the focus of the movie which was entertaining Royalty. The entire Crawley household was in a flurry of activity preparing for the visit of the King and Queen and we were ready to join them on that journey. We concluded our talk by sharing, at the time, some recent social media speculation that a second Downton Abbey movie may be on its way. 

Our fifth year at another sold-out Downton Days tea at Meadow Brook's Christopher Wren dining room

Happily, it was not only true, but it's here! "Downton Abbey:  A New Era" is slotted to premiere this May. BTS couldn't resist incorporating some of what we do know about the new film and postulating a few theories about what it could mean to the future of the Crawley family and their ancestral home.

We also shared a special teacup with connections to Downton Abbey.  The full story will be featured in the May/June issue of TeaTime Magazine in an article penned by this blogger. 😊

Barb with "twin" Carla, a volunteer at Meadow Brook

We met up with many old and new friends, including my "twin", Carla, one of the amazing volunteers at Meadow Brook. 

Another fabulous Downton Abbey-themed afternoon tea at Meadow Brook Hall. 

Thank you to Meadow Brook Hall and all the delightful guests who came to see us!

The Gilded Age: For Valentine's Day it has to be hearts and roses - a visit to Rosecliff and its heartshaped staircase

The distinctive heart-shaped staircase at Rosecliff

This Valentine's Day we'll be served an extra heaping of love with the fourth episode of The Gilded Age tonight. We're celebrating with flowers, chocolates and Rosecliff, which, per, the book, "The Newport Mansions, The Gilded Age", "epitomizes the lighter, more romantic side of the Gilded Age."

Rosecliff was designed by Stanford White, inspired by a Versailles palace

 

Built in 1898 for Theresa Fair Oelrichs by Gilded Age designer, Stanford White (who also "built" - and dined at -  the Russell mansion of 5th Avenue, across from the not-so-pleased Agnes Van Rijhn in HBO's The Gilded Age).  White modeled it after the Grand Trianon, the 17th century Versailles pleasure palace of Louis XIV of France. 

 In a marriage that blended new money with old, Theresa had the megabucks and her husband, Hermann Oelrichs, was a member of a well-established family in New York society. The bride's father, James Graham Fair, an Irish immigrant, came to America to seek fortune in the California Gold Rush of 1849.  While he didn't strike it rich with gold, he did hit silver ten years later with the Comstock lode in Nevada which made him "instant millionaire". 

Ocean views, but what about the Bellevue address?

 

Theresa Fair Oelrichs preferred the society of Newport to that of San Francisco, so, along with her sister, she purchased eleven acres of oceanfront from George Bancroft. Bancroft was a statesmen and amateur botanists who maintained extensive rose gardens on the grounds which gave the estate its name.

 Although the water views were spectacular, the land did not reach to Bellevue Avenue, the most desired street in Newport. After an agreement with a neighbor to secure access to Bellevue, construction on Rosecliff began.

 

Rosecliff's ballroom measures 40 by 80 feet, enough for high society (and a few party crashers?).

When my husband, Chris, and I visited Newport six years ago, and toured the cottages on Bellevue, Rosecliff was my favorite. It's bright, airy and more approachable than most of its neighboring mansions with their heavy drapery and dark wood furnishings.

 

Heart-shaped staircase

One of Rosecliff's most distinctive features is its heart-shaped staircase. My pictures of the staircase eliminate some of the design, so I am including a photo from "The Newport Mansions, The Gilded Age".

 Theresa Fair Oelrich established herself as a formidable hostess at Newport and held many successful parties. Rosecliff's expansive ballroom measures forty by eighty feet, so enough for a high society gathering and a few party crashers.

Party crashers spotted in the northwest bedroom at Rosecliff.

 

According to last week's The Preservation Society of Newport County's newsletter, viewers of The Guilded Age will catch a glimpse of Rosecliff, but not in Newport. Part of its facade was "lifted" and placed alongside other homes in a New York city street scene. Perhaps we'll see more of Rosecliff in upcoming episodes. 

However, BTS is always there! Perhaps you spotted us in the mirror of Rosecliff's northwest bedroom?

Happy Valentines Day and Gilded Age watching tonight from BTS!

The Gilded Age: Scenes from Marble House featuring George and Bertha Russells' bedrooms!

Alva Vanderbilt's bedroom at Marble House, inspiration for Bertha Russell

We're looking forward to tonight's episode of The Gilded Age. Will the Russells start breaking down the formidable barriers-to-entry of New York high society? Will we learn more of Peggy Scott's need of legal assistance? Will I be donning my tiara this evening at 9:00?  I only know for certain the answer to one of those questions. . . 

In the meantime, as in last week's blog, with the assistance of The Preservation Society of Newport County's recent newsletter and a short clip from HBO on the Russell's home interior, we're taking in scenes filmed at, or inspired by, Marble House. 

Exterior of Marble House

Marble House has 500,000 cubic feet of marble

Marble House, where we visited in 2016, was built between 1888 - 1892 for Alva Vanderbilt, the wife of William K. Vanderbilt.  William K was the grandson of Cornelious Vanderbilt, who amassed the family's great wealth in shipping and railroads.  This Newport mansion was designed by Richard Morris Hunt (renowned architect of the Gilded Age) at the cost of $11 million dollars (those are 1888 dollars!). It is constructed of 500,000 cubic feet of -no surprise - marble.

Consuelo Vanderbilt's bedroom, like most things in her life, influenced by Alva

Willam and Alva had three children, two sons and a daughter, Consuelo. Alva tightly controlled her daughter's life, including pushing her, at the young age of 18, into a loveless marriage to an English Duke. Before Consuelo set sail across the pond, Alva dictated her education, social life and even the decor of her bedroom. Now, 130-plus years later, that same bedroom is the stage for George Russell's bedroom. (also, tea blogger, Barb Gulley) 

Consuelo's bedroom, scene for Mr. Russell and Barb Gulley

Shocking!

And, although Bertha Russell's bedroom is not filmed on-site at the Marble House, her bedroom was inspired by Alva's private space at the Newport cottage.  Unlike the deep red and dark wood furnishings of Consuelo's bedroom, Alva's is an explosion of lilac, cream and ruffles.

Chinese tea house, on Marble House's estate

We're also wondering if the Chinese tea house that Alva built on the Marble House estate (also designed by Richard Morris Hunt) will make an appearance. It was built more than twenty years after Marble House, and so a bit beyond the Gilded Age era, but, what a lovely spot to have tea and look out over the ocean.  (It was under renovation when we were last there, so, we only could view it from the outside).

The best way to find out the answers to all these questions is to continue watching the series. We've got our tiara and remote control ready!

Ocean view from Marble House estat3e

Queen Elizabeth's 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne. BTS has the "Blue Book" on English monarchs, inherited from the other Anglophile in my family

Reading from the family blue book, QE II and more

Today marks the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne. It's different from the coronation - the formal ceremony at Westminster Abby with all the pomp and circumstance - which followed fourteen months later. February 6th is the day George VI died and his oldest daughter, only 25 years of age, married with two small children, took over as reigning monarch. This day in February, the Queen, historically, observes with quiet reflection. Most of England's celebrations will be during a "bank holiday" the first weekend in June. 

Queen Elizabeth - photo in the blue book before Coronation

I'm also marking the day in quiet reflection with a cup of tea and a blue velvet covered book titled, "Britain and her Coronations", a tiny tome packed with the short history of the coronations of fifty-nine Monarchs of Britain (two were not crowned). This book belonged to my Dad and although I knew vaguely of its existence on one of our bookshelves, only recently did I delve it. It's a treasure on many levels.

My Dad was a collector - stamps, coins, and a big lot of miscellaneous. I've also uncovered that he was bit of an Anglophile, with an emphasis on the Royals.  It's without question that I inherited the "collecting" and "royal interest" genes from him as my Mom viewed collections as an upkeep burden (except for books) and was thoroughly not amused with English Kings and Queens.

A history of English monarchs and 1953 time capsule  next to gold-rimmed sherry glass

Although my Dad passed away over 40 years ago, at only 55, we were close in all the twenty two years I had with him and it's great to continue the connections. I remember going to coin and stamp shows with him and the real treat, for me, were the booths that sold something beyond coins and stamps. One of my all-time favorites was a stall selling miniature pop bottles filled with real soda. I came home with four tiny Sprite bottles. What a coup! (And, that's how my Dad kept me interested in coin and stamp shows.)

My Dad also ventured to the other booths and he'd come home with an odd assortment of gold-rimmed sherry glasses or old periodicals and books, such as this blue velvet coronation edition. Fortunately, he was selective, organized and not a hoarder so my Mom never complained. But, finding and digging into some of these Queen Elizabeth II mementos among boxes of quirky first-day issue stamps, I found another connection to my Dad, which brought on both smiles and a bit of verklempt-ness. 

Of all our talks, I don't recall my Dad referring to these QE II items - it could be because, at the time, there wasn't much of a home audience for them.  But, this blue book is a trip back through centuries of English history as well as a 1953  time capsule.

Throne chairs across from an ad from The Colony in Palm Beach - all still in place

At the time of this book's publication, Queen Elizabeth II, was still months away from her own coronation.  It was put together as a charitable endeavor by the British American Society of America, Inc. with proceeds going to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in London. It's like a fancy program with great content in the front and ads in the back. The ads, though, are really the 1953 time warp. They feature hotels and restaurants in Palm Beach, Florida and New York City. My favorites are the "coronation themed" ads such as "Attend the Coronation in your new Austin" (only $1945). There's even a "Coronation Cruise" leaving New York on May 5, 1953!

 

Attend the Coronation in your fancy new car!

If I could go back in time, I'd skip the Delorean and head right for the R.M.S. Caronia, calling Murry Hill for reservations.

If I could go back in time, I'd call Murray and book a coronation cruise.

Curious to see if there were other books like this, I got a match on E-bay. Current value of the same book in relatively the same conditions, is listed at $20.00. 

Today, the Queen and I have something in common. We're reflecting on fathers who were admirable and gone too soon.

Britain and her Coronations book:  $20.00, an Austin auto: $1945 (in 1953 dollars), connecting family ties with timeless treasures: priceless!