7 greatest locations to expertise Gilded Age opulence

Louisa Jacobson (left) as Marian Brook and Cynthia Nixon as Aunt Ada Brook on HBO Max’s ‘The Gilded Age’ — Photo courtesy of Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO

Love is within the air (and on the air) as viewers eagerly await Season 2 of Julian Fellowes’ “The Gilded Age.” Will love prevail regardless of the battle between Marian Brook’s old-money household and Larry Russell’s nouveau riche mother and father, whose self-made fortune turns the social order of excessive society on its head?

This historic sequence on HBO Max has sparked renewed curiosity within the mansions and structure that sprang up between 1880 and 1900, generally known as the Gilded Age. While the vast majority of these buildings have lengthy been demolished or changed by extra modern buildings, some stay immaculately preserved and open to the general public. Whether a guided tour or self-placed, you’ll be able to stroll (or waltz!) the grounds and interiors of those gilded gems.

The Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Hyde Park, New York

The Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York, embodies opulence — Photo courtesy of Darren McGee

Built alongside the banks of the Hudson River in Hyde Park — just a few hours north of Manhattan, close to the Catskill Mountains — the Vanderbilt Mansion was the nation residence of Frederick Vanderbilt and his spouse, Louise. Designed within the beaux arts model, this nationwide historic website on a 600-acre property was the place the Vanderbilts escaped the chaos of town, typically entertaining associates. It’s additionally the place Vanderbilt died in his mattress, at age 82. With no youngsters of his personal, he left a big portion of his property to loyal, longtime workers, together with a valet, an assistant butler and a maid.

The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island

Scenes from ‘The Gilded Age’ had been filmed at The Breakers — Photo courtesy of Discover Newport

One of the unique Gilded Age mansions, The Breakers was constructed between 1893 and 1895 by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, one of many richest males in America. It was right here that the Vanderbilts escaped the oppressive warmth of New York, summering within the seaside neighborhood of Newport. The Breakers’ Great Hall contains 50-foot-high ceilings and all of the opulence of the period, so it’s no shock that a few of these rooms had been used to movie scenes set on the Russell residence for the HBO Max sequence. The Breakers was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

Marble House, Newport, Rhode Island

Marble House reportedly incorporates $7 million of marble — Photo courtesy of Discover Newport

The Breakers and Vanderbilt Mansion weren’t the one Gilded Age properties constructed by the Vanderbilts. There was additionally Marble House, constructed between 1888 and 1892, by William Vanderbilt as a birthday current for his spouse. Marble House and The Breakers triggered the transformation of Newport as a sleepy, modest summer season escape to a playground for rich Manhattanites. Designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, Marble House was believed to be impressed by Versailles’ Petit Trianon, costing roughly $11 million. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

The Villard Mansion, New York, New York

The Villard Mansion in its heyday — Photo courtesy of United States Library of Congress

While you’ll be able to’t go to the unique Villard Mansion because it existed within the Eighties, you’ll be able to nonetheless see elements of it by reserving a keep at Lotte New York Palace, which now occupies a part of the constructing. Originally a posh of six Italian Renaissance-inspired townhouses constructed round a central courtyard, the Villard Mansion was commissioned by railroad magnate Henry Villard and designed by the architectural agency of McKim, Mead & White.

Villard’s 15,000-square-foot residence is believed by some to be probably the most well-preserved mansions in Manhattan. Lotte New York Palace gives visitors the chance to take part in a complimentary, one-hour Palace History Tour (Saturdays at 10 am), throughout which a historian supplies a glimpse of the constructing’s Gilded Age glory days.

Glenview Historic Home at Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York

The Glenview Historic Home’s inside caught the eye of HBO Max location scouts — Photo courtesy of Hudson River Museum

If you go to the Glenview Historic Home, in Yonkers, you’ll be able to see the grand staircase that is in Carrie Astor’s residence in Season 1, Episode 2, of “The Gilded Age.” Glenview was constructed in 1877, designed by architect Charles W. Clinton, and is among the best-preserved Gilded Age mansions, securing its place on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hudson River Museum, the place the mansion is positioned, additionally contains artwork displays and a planetarium.

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, New York

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall doubled because the Academy of Music in ‘The Gilded Age’ — Photo courtesy of Darren McGee

Many of the road scenes within the HBO Max sequence had been filmed in Troy, New York, a small metropolis within the Capital District of Upstate New York. The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall doubled because the lavish Academy of Music, the place the flirtation between Marian and Tom is taken up a notch. The constructing was designed by George B. Post within the early to mid-1870s and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Today, guests can attend concert events and performances by notable names, similar to Branford Marsalis, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Esperanza Spalding.

The Lyndhurst Mansion, Tarrytown, New York

The Lyndhurst Mansion — Photo courtesy of Darren McGee

Perched alongside the banks of the Hudson River in Upstate New York is the Lyndhurst Mansion, as soon as the house of George Merritt, who expanded the property after buying it in 1864. It stays one in every of nation’s greatest examples of gothic revival structure. However, it was railroad tycoon Jay Gould — believed to be the inspiration for “The Gilded Age” character George Russell — who bought and up to date the house’s furnishings throughout The Gilded Age. Plenty of scenes have been filmed at Lyndhurst, together with these on the residence of Charles and Aurora Fane and the workplaces of The New York Globe. The property gives a mansion tour that gives extra element in regards to the lifetime of Jay Gould.