Celebrate Christmas at the Newport Mansions

MARBLE HOUSE, shown here, will be decorated for the holidays along with The Breakers and The Elms as part of Christmas at the Newport Mansions. / COURTESY THE PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF NEWPORT COUNTY
MARBLE HOUSE, shown here, will be decorated for the holidays along with The Breakers and The Elms as part of Christmas at the Newport Mansions. / COURTESY THE PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF NEWPORT COUNTY

NEWPORT – From now until Jan. 2, The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House will be decorated from top to toe in the spirit of the holiday season.
Run by The Preservation Society of Newport County, guests will enjoy music, model trains, antique toys, shopping and a visit from Santa Claus.
Jim Donahue, curator of historic landscapes, said the weeks of decorating would not be possible without the army of volunteers on which the society relies each year. During the gear-up to the 2016 holiday season, Donahue said there were 240 volunteers who helped decorate the houses by placing ornaments on Christmas trees, hanging garlands and placing wreaths.
In order to keep the experience new and exciting for repeat visitors, each year volunteers add new ornaments, decorations and apply different themes. This year, the houses will be decorated with new, taller, pre-lit, commercial-grade Christmas trees – for a total of 28 decorated Christmas trees amid the three homes – as well as 24 holiday-themed mantelpieces, thousands of poinsettias, fresh flowers, evergreens and individual white candles in each window.
In addition, three model trains at The Breakers will represent the Vanderbilts’ New York Central Railroad and a Gilded Age street-scape scene at The Elms will feature period sleighs and mannequins in vintage clothing.
The Preservation Society of Newport County is a nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area’s historic architecture, landscapes and decorative arts. Its 11 historic properties – seven of them National Historic Landmarks – span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development.

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