Marble House
William Kissam Vanderbilt was another son of William Vanderbilt who received $5 million from his grandfather, and later a $55 million dollar bequest from his father. Not to be outdone by his younger brother Cornelius II, William built Marble House on Newport’s cliffs, at the cost of $11 million, which included about $7 million worth of marble, more than 500,000 cubic feet of the stone. Marble House was a birthday present for his wife, Alva Vanderbilt.
Marble House was a summer residence, during the rest of the year William had other residences from which to choose. His Manhattan home on Fifth Avenue was known as Petit Chateau, built in the French Renaissance style, and featured a sixty-foot Grand Hall leading from the main entry into the home, of stone which was detailed in carvings and bas relief. A secretary desk once owned by Marie Antoinette was a prominently featured furnishing.
In March of 1883, Alva held a housewarming party which was attended by over 1,000 invited guests. The ball cost a reported $3 million (almost $70 million in 2018). The purpose of Alva’s ball was to force her acceptance in New York society, the matrons of which considered the Vanderbilt wealth to be new money and thus its possessors unworthy of socializing with them. The move was a success, Caroline Astor welcomed Alva into the ranks of the elite.
William also built a country estate on Long Island known as Idle Hour, which was rebuilt of stone after the original frame structure burnt down. After his divorce from Alva (he was unfaithful and it cost him a $10 million settlement) he built a chateau in France, and three thoroughbred horse racing tracks nearby in 1907. Vanderbilt’s horses were highly successful in France, and he became a noted breeder and racing magnate.
The Fifth Avenue mansion was demolished in 1926, to make room for commercial real estate development in Manhattan. Marble House, which belonged to Alva, became a host for feminist rallies held by Alva in the early twentieth century, and Alva added a Chinese Tea House in which to address leaders of the women’s suffrage and temperance movements. In 1963 it was acquired by the Newport County Preservation Society.