History and Architecture
The Marble House was built in 1892 for William Vanderbilt, the grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, the patriarch that established the family fortune in steamships and railroads. Williams older brother was Cornelius II, who went on to build the Breakers. The Marble House cost roughly $11 million to build (roughly $313 million today), and $7 million of that was used to purchase 500,000 cubic feet of marble. The Marble House contains 50 rooms and required 36 servants to staff it. When the home was completed, William gave it to his wife Alva for her 39th birthday.
In 1895, just three years after construction was completed, William and Alva Vanderbilt divorced. Alva went on to marry Oliver Belmont, and moved into his home down the street. Until his death, the Marble House was more or less a fancy closet in which Alva would store her gowns. When her husband died, Alva moved back into the Marble House and had a Chinese Tea House constructed on the seaside cliff. Alva was a prominent figure in the women’s suffrage movement, and hosted rallies from the tea house.
Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo was the only daughter of Alva, and was subject to Alva’s arguably cruel upbringing. She wrote an autobiography in which she described being required to wear a steel rod along her spine to improve her posture. She was educated at home and learned how to speak foreign languages at a young age. Alva reportedly used to whip her with a riding crop for ‘minor infractions’.
Alva was determined to marry her daughter off to the best suitor possible. She ultimately decided to marry her daughter off to Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough. Marrying a duke would bring a title into the family, something that Alva desperately wanted. Consuelo however was secretly engaged to another man, and vehemently opposed being married to another. When Alva found out that Consuelo planned to run away with her fiance, she locked her in her room and promised to murder him. When that didn’t work, Alva claimed that her health was being seriously harmed by Consuelo’s stubbornness. It was when Consuelo thought that her mother was going to die that she ultimately agreed to marry the Duke. Unsurprisingly, Alva made a miraculous recovery shortly after this decision. Reportedly, Consuelo was weeping at the alter behind her veil.
The Duke, who’s family was indebted and in need of money, received $2.5 million in railroad stock as payment for the marriage (and for giving a title to the Vanderbilt family). Consuelo’s father built her a mansion in London, which I like to think was done to give her some comfort in all of this.
The End of the Vanderbilt Occupancy
In 1919 the Marble House was closed permanently. Alva moved to France to be closer to her daughter (and the title she bought, if you are cynical). She restored a villa on the Riviera, and sold the Marble House to the Prince family in 1932. Alva died a year later.
The Prince family lived in the Marble House in the summer, and took care to preserve it. They did not redecorate the vast majority of the home, and instead kept it as the Vanderbilt family had. When they lived in the house, they slept primarily in the servant housing on the third floor, in an effort to preserve the mansion. The Prince family held a benefit for the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1957, and several famous guests attended. Perhaps the most famous of which was then senator John F. Kennedy and his wife. In 1963, the Preservation Society of Newport County purchased the Marble House. In 1971 the Marble House was put on the National Register of Historic Places and in 2006 it was designated as a National Historic Landmark.
The Marble House in Cinema
As with Rosecliff, scenes from The Great Gatsby, 27 Dresses and Amistad were filmed at the Marble House. More recently, Victoria’s Secret filmed a holiday commercial at the Marble House in 2012.
The Good, The Bad, The Beautiful
The Good
The Marble House is true to its name. With half a million cubic feet of marble used in its construction, it was a distinct experience. Every room in the house seemed to have a different theme, which almost forced us to be surprised by every room as we entered it. I suppose that is what the Vanderbilt family wanted to do though… surprise and inspire awe in every person that walked into the home.
The entry/grand staircase 
The dining room, adorned with rose marble throughout 
The library/study 
The gold room. The walls and ceiling are decorated with real gold 
The marble fireplace in the gold room 
Alva’s lavender bedroom
The Bad
In all honesty, there was nothing bad about the experience. The worst was learning about how Consuelo was married off to a stranger so that the family could gain a title. Otherwise, the entire visit was amazing.
The Beautiful
The Gothic room was amazing. From the architecture and design of the fireplace to the collection of Gothic artifacts, the room held our attention for a long time. A few stories of the Gothic room in the audio tour allowed us to try to imagine what it was like to live there at the time. The stained glass windows in the Gothic room were beautiful, but not visible from the outside. The architect intentionally designed it so that the stained glass would not alter the appearance that the outside of the Marble House had.
