Gilded Age Mansions

Gilded Age Mansions Stories and photos about mansions from the Gilded Age period.

For those that have visited Mable House, Newport, Rhode Island and when leaving the tour through the basement, there is ...
05/29/2026

For those that have visited Mable House, Newport, Rhode Island and when leaving the tour through the basement, there is a wonderful display of family photos. Here is a rare one of Consuelo Vanderbilt and her second husband, Jaques Balsan, to whom she had a very happy marriage. Don’t forget to check out the Newport Mansion website for hours, special events and so much more, https://www.newportmansions.org/

Two years ago, courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County I had the privilege to tour the not open to the pu...
05/26/2026

Two years ago, courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County I had the privilege to tour the not open to the public third floor. Please follow as I explore it for your with current photos & history. Don’t forget to check out the Newport Mansion website for hours, special events and so much more, https://www.newportmansions.org/

Many members ask why so many beautiful mansions featured in our group were demolished. The reality is that even well-bui...
05/26/2026

Many members ask why so many beautiful mansions featured in our group were demolished. The reality is that even well-built homes designed to last centuries required constant funding for repairs, heating, electricity, roofs, windows, landscaping, staff, security, and taxes — much like any large estate or modest home today.

Likewise, a large Facebook group has ongoing expenses. Our unpaid administrators and moderators generously donate their time, interns are modestly compensated, paid consultants help resolve technical issues, and countless unseen hours are spent managing spam and maintaining a respectful environment for nearly half a million members. Yet this group has no sponsorships or advertising.

I deeply appreciate those who have donated in the past. If you are able to contribute, donations through this link would be greatly welcomed: https://gofund.me/a7b0014c1.
Recent assessments show that more than $1,000 per month is currently paid out of pocket, not including time. This group will continue because it is truly a passion of mine, but even small donations help tremendously.

The photograph shown here depicts Inisfada, the Brady mansion that once stood in North Hills, Long Island, NY. It was demolished in 2013.

While we may not save every surviving Gilded Age mansion, groups like ours help preserve the memory of those endangered, recently lost, or demolished long ago — celebrating their architecture, artistry, craftsmanship, and beauty so they are never forgotten. The LINK to make a donation is here,
https://gofund.me/a7b0014c1

Let’s talk about the Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island. Have you visited and if you did what did you think? If you have, w...
05/24/2026

Let’s talk about the Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island. Have you visited and if you did what did you think? If you have, would you go a second time? What were your first thoughts upon seeing it from the outside and then inside? Could you live there? How many have taken the recently opened third floor tour? If you had to pick just one word to describe it, what would you say? Please come up with some other conversation points since I am thinking of doing this for other Gilded Age Mansions. Share your own stories. If you are planning a trip to see the Newport Mansions, here is their website for hours, events and news, https://www.newportmansions.org/mansions-and-gardens/the-breakers/ PHOTO: Newport Mansions

While I so wish I could attend this wonderful book faire at this magnificent estate & stately home in the UK, there is s...
05/24/2026

While I so wish I could attend this wonderful book faire at this magnificent estate & stately home in the UK, there is still one room available to stay over during the event at Knowsley Hall. The weekend of June 19-21st should be so memorable. Listing to esteemed authors, purveying fine old books and enjoying the splendors of the house and garden. Please visit for more information and contact them there. If you go have an incredible time. I just starting following them so as not to miss their upcoming ones here in the US. If by chance the listing says sold out, there is the one room available at this posting, but you can also visit and enjoy the event too.

While one expects that stone or brick mansions will survive a fire better than a wooden structure, the often elaborate i...
05/23/2026

While one expects that stone or brick mansions will survive a fire better than a wooden structure, the often elaborate interiors do not do so well. Many on this group are familiar with the former Long Island mansion of William K. Vanderbilt still at Oakdale, NY. But in 1974 it suffered a devastating fire. The beautifully carved grand staircase was reduced to ashes. The mansion at the time served as a student center and it was thought a cigarette may have started the blaze in the adjoining drawing room. Fortunately the school did its best to restore the lost Vanderbilt splendor, but the true detailing could not be done due to costs. Oddly the mansion that was restored best as possible now has an uncertain future since the school has been closed for years and the mansion has suffered damaging vandalism. Any current news on its future? The last image close up of the staircase I colorized to give a better sense of the original staircase, but without an hour or more of work, does have some errors regarding materials.

Wouldn’t this petite mansion that once stood at Old Westbury, Long Island, NY make a perfect hideaway. Designed by the p...
05/22/2026

Wouldn’t this petite mansion that once stood at Old Westbury, Long Island, NY make a perfect hideaway. Designed by the prominent architectural firm of Carrere & Hastings, who also designed the Fifth Avenue Branch of the New York Public and the Fifth Avenue mansion of Henry C. Frick, now the Frick Collection, this 1910 home created for millionaire William Payne Thompson, Jr. was called, Longfields. By the 1940’s horseman Ambrose Clark bought the property to expand his own neighboring estate. Clark having a huge Georgian mansion of his own tore this elegant mansion down and left the estate return to nature. The Clark estate and Thompson estate sites are now owned by the State University of Old Westbury and sadly the grand Clark mansion burned in the 1960’s. Many years ago while searching for the Clark mansion site, I got lost and stumbled on a long allee of trees with a decorative niche wall at one end and remains of a tea house at the other. The allee was bisected by some curving garden stairs lacking any balustrades that always get kicked over by vandals. Later on I did find the foundations of the Clark mansion a bit further north. Not knowing anything about the Thompson mansion I went home and looked through my files, pre-Internet days and was surprised that this mystery mansion was such a treasure. This was over 40 years ago and now nature has run rampant and what I once saw must be heavily overgrown by now. You can see more photos which posts hundreds of Long Island estates, lost and still existing.

05/22/2026

One of the best things living only a few hours from the mansions at Newport, Rhode Island is being able to go frequently. Like everyone else who visits a mansion, we all go for the best classic views, but as one revisits a mansion, like a person you get to see them differently each time and notice new angles like this one of the grand staircase at Rosecliff. The Newport Mansions are now open for the 2026 season so even if you have been there before, go back and see them again like it was your first time. Can anyone tire of seeing this staircase. Please also visit their website and page to keep up with the many activities planned this year. https://www.newportmansions.org/

The top photo is of the long lost mansion, Greystone, once located overlooking the Hudson River at Yonkers, NY. I always...
05/22/2026

The top photo is of the long lost mansion, Greystone, once located overlooking the Hudson River at Yonkers, NY. I always thought it looked rather bulky and a bit creepy, but with some AI color enhancement it doesn’t look so menacing. For those that are familiar with the Grecian style gardens at Untermeyer Gardens, they originally belong to this estate. Unfortunately the mansion was demolished in the 1940’s.

Hello, this is Gary Lawrance. I am the creator and administrator of the popular Facebook group, “Mansions of the Gilded ...
05/21/2026

Hello, this is Gary Lawrance. I am the creator and administrator of the popular Facebook group, “Mansions of the Gilded Age” and the, “Mansions of the Gilded Age”, Instagram account here. So many members ask why such beautiful mansions seen on our group have been torn down, and the bottom line is, even if there is no mortgage and the homes were built well enough to last centuries, they needed money for repairs, electricity, heating, new roofs, windows, estate landscape care, interior staffing, security, taxes, and most things even modest homes require.

And just like a large estate, a large Facebook & Instagram following has expenses. There are unpaid administrators/moderators who willingly give their time, interns who are modestly paid, social media consultants who help straighten out glitches, and the ever-unseen housekeeping time required to keep spammers at bay and to inform members to behave properly so as not to make others uncomfortable.

The group & Instagram account has over 1/2 million members/followers but does not have any sponsorships or advertising. I have asked for donations now and then and am so appreciative of those who give what they can.

So please, if you can continue with your donations at the link at the top here, linktr.ee/gildedage, then under donations, it would very much help. I really don’t like to ask, but after recent assessments, it has been determined that over one thousand a month is spent out of pocket. This group & Instagram will continue since it is a passion of mine, but even if just a few members donate, it would be so welcome.

The photo seen here was a Newport mansion named Armsea Hall with members of the Newport Garden Club assembled on the steps. Sadly, this hardly known residence was demolished in the 1960s.

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