A story of sadness and Generosity - Rosecliff

Wednesday September 18,2013
Newport, Rhode Island

 

 

So many mansions, so little time.

 

We begin our day at The Breakers and due to circumstances which you can read about here we left Marble House after short while and walked down the blocks to Rosecliff.

Rosecliff was the home of Theresa Fair Oelrichs whose father made an enormous fortune in Nevada’s Comstock silver lode.  Tessie was a darling of San Francisco society but she felt the real society was on the east coast and she intended to conquer it.  Her husband’s niece Blanch Oelrichs said she was “strongly addicted to society as a business”.  Her work was calling cards and invitations, dinners and balls, gowns and jewels. She reached her apex as mistress of Rosecliff. 

 

 

But first……..

 

 

As we walk up the drive and around to take some pictures of the front of the mansion before going inside we get a wonderful surprise.

There is a huge American Elm tree right here for us to hug.  The American Elm, like the Chestnut of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was completely wiped out.  In the elm’s case due to Dutch elm disease which is a fungus and spread by the elm bark beetle an exotic oriental insect.  The disease was first reported in the U.S. in 1928 and ultimately killed nearly all the elm trees in New England.  David says he hasn’t seen an elm since the  one in the yard of his childhood home on Long Island.   Seeing this elm  is very exciting for me especially because of the loss of all the Chestnuts in our mountains due to the chestnut blight, also from an oriental insect.  The chestnut is such a strong tree that it continually puts up sprouts from the old roots.  They grow to 4 feet or so before they are attacked and killed again.  We see these trees trying and trying to grow in the woods at the farm.   It just makes me sing to see this healthy elm tree when nearly all were lost.

 

 

 

 

When we  turn around, there is the house which was created as “a showcase for extravagant summer entertainments”. 

 

The architect, Stanford White,  modeled it after the Grand Trianon, a baroque pleasure pavilion built in the great park of Versailles as a retreat for Louis XIV  and his mistress.

 

 

I enjoy the details of these homes.  The exquisite statues, arches, benches and all the artistic craftsmanship.

 

I doubt they will let me eat a picnic lunch on this marble bench near the fountain which is not on today.

 

 

 

 

 

Notice these statues between the upper windows.  All around the house, the statues are all different and intricately done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the front door we go. 

 

 

Does he look like the butler?  Strange uniform.

 

As in the other homes, no photographs are permitted inside.  I find a lot of photos of the ballroom on line.  It seems it is an extremely popular place to rent for your wedding.  Nice income for the society.  Beautiful backdrop for a wedding.

 

 

 

This room with gold ceilings, walls, draperies, chairs…… is known as the salon.  This is real gold leaf.

 

 

 

 

This house was the scene of some of the most fantastic parties of  Newport history.

 

 

 

Tessie Oelrich made sure of that.  At her Bal Blanc which highlighted the week of the Astor Cup Race, everything from the floral decorations to her own lace dress embroidered with silver was done in white.  Banks of white hydrangeas, roses, orchids and lilies of the valley surrounded the house inside and out.  The east lawn fountain was stocked with swans and a mock fleet of specially-constructed white ships floated on the waves in the waters off shore.  She continued to make Rosecliff the scene of fabulous events until the advent of the income tax in 1913 began the decline of the Newport’s Gilded age. 

 

 

 

Obviously in 100 years the wealthy have managed to buy politicians to create loopholes for them so that again they have 100% of their income for multiple houses and other toys .  Call me cynical, but the extreme affluence and the huge gap between the rich and the poor of this time do remind me a great deal of the current situation.  Guess no one wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the income tax this year.  How did they pay for the wars before 1913??

 

 

 

 

 

The advent of the Great War of 1918 pretty much put an end to the life that Tessie Oelrichs lived for.  At that point, she was in her fifties.  Tessie’s niece writes that her aunt spent her last years at Rosecliff “in the company of imaginary guests, inviting them to stay just a little longer…to take one more glass of champagne”.  Tessie died in 1926 at age 57. 

Her son Herman continued to occupy Rosecliff in the summers until 1941.  He sold it for $21,000 and the new owner neglected it so that water pipes froze and burst.  The house was inundated with ice.  Ray Alan Van Clief bought the house, had it fully repaired and refurnished but en route to Newport for his first stay he was killed in an automobile accident.

 

 

The story does ultimately have a happy ending.

 

 

Pretty sad tales until Mr. and Mrs. J. Edgar Monroe of New Orleans purchased Rosecliff, fully restored it, summered here for twenty-five years and in August 1971 gave the 21 acre estate with all its furnishings and a trust fund for its maintenance to the Preservation Society of Newport.  A magnanimous gift indeed.

 

Due to the loss of the original furniture, only some of the rooms are furnished as they were in Tessie Oelrichs’ time.  The others, particularly the bedrooms, are furnished as they were when the house was given to the society.

 

 

You can rent Rosecliff for any occasion you like.

 

 

Some of the splendor of Rosecliff’s Gilded Age past was recreated when the house and ballroom were used as a setting for scenes from the films The Great Gatsby, The Betsy, True Lies and Amistad.

 

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, there is an event taking place this evening at Rosecliff.  Therefore it is difficult to get pictures of the home from the back with the giant awning set up.  But I did get one of the pool in which the white swans were swimming for Tessie’s Bal Blanc.  Wonder if Tessie had seven swans a swimming?

 

 

 

 

 

In comments about these Newport “cottages” several folks expressed my opinion exactly.  It’s beautiful but it wouldn’t feel like home to me.  They all felt like showplaces.  And too cold, not literately but emotionally.  Even the bedrooms did not feel intimate.

Someone asked about the servants.  The Elms has a separate tour devoted to the servants quarters and life.  The houses had up to 40 servants to keep them running.  Isn’t that just amazing??  Forty people to take care of one family and their guests.

From the stories I read, the men and women who worked here liked doing so and were grateful for the employment.  I would like to take the Elms tour about the servants and have put it on my NEXT TIME list, along with the Marble House.  I really do have to see how Alice and Alva’s homes compare.  :-)

There are a total of 11 mansions and grounds available for tours.  We have done three and have a forever ticket for two more of our choice.  Some have audio self guided tours and some have actual guides.  The charge is the same for either.

 

 

I’ve enjoyed my time in Newport and would definitely come back since I have several things on my ‘next time’ list including the Block Island Ferry and some great ice cream if someone can advise where to get it.  :-)