page_title: The Breakers
section_title: First floor
hierarchical_section_title: The Breakers / Layout / First floor
caption_attribution_description: English: The Great Hall of The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island, United StatesPhotographer's note: This photograph is not great quality because photography is not allowed while on tour of The Breakers. That said, I made an effort to take an image good enough to give a viewer a good idea of the room. Thanks for understanding.
context_page_description: The Breakers is a Vanderbilt mansion located on Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The building became a National Historic Landmark in 1994 and is a contributing property to the Bellevue Avenue Historic District. It is owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport County and is open for visits all year.
  The mansion was built as the Newport summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy United States Vanderbilt family, in an architectural style based on the Italian Renaissance. It was designed by renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt with interior decoration by Jules Allard and Sons and Ogden Codman, Jr. The 70-room mansion has a gross area of 125,339 square feet and 62,482 square feet of living area on five floors, constructed between 1893 and 1895. The Ochre Point Avenue entrance is marked by sculpted iron gates, and the 30-foot-high walkway gates are part of a 12-foot-high limestone-and-iron fence that borders the property on all but the ocean side. The footprint of the house covers approximately 1 acre or 43,000 square feet of the 14 acres estate on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
context_section_description: Entrance foyer
  Gentlemen's reception room
  Ladies' reception room
  Great hall (50 ft (15 m) × 50 ft (15 m) × 50 ft (15 m)) – Over each of the six doors that lead from the Great Hall are limestone figure groups celebrating humanity's progress in art, science, and industry: Galileo, representing science; Dante, representing literature; Apollo, representing the arts; Mercury, representing speed and commerce; Richard Morris Hunt, representing architecture; and Karl Bitter, representing sculpture.
  Main staircase
  Arcade
  Library – The library has coffered ceilings painted with a dolphin, symbolic of the sea and hospitality, supported by Circassian walnut paneling impressed with gold leaf in the form of a leather-bound book. Between the ceiling and the gold paneling lies green Spanish leather embossed with gold, which continues into the library from the alcove where the inhabitants played cards. Inside the central library rest two busts; the bronze bust depicts William Henry Vanderbilt II, the oldest child of Cornelius II and Alice, who died of typhoid at the age of 21 while attending Yale University. There is now a library at Yale dedicated to William Henry Vanderbilt II. The second bust, in marble, is of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. The fireplace, taken from a 16th-century French chateau (Arnay-le-Duc, Burgundy), bears the inscription "I laugh at great wealth, and never miss it; nothing but wisdom matters in the end."
  Music room – The room's open interior was used for recitals and dances. Its woodwork and furnishings were designed by Richard Van der Boyen and implemented by Jules Allard and Sons. The room has a gilt coffered ceiling lined with silver and gold, as well as an elliptical ceiling molding which bears the inscription in French of song, music, harmony and melody. Around the edge are the names of well-known composers. The fireplace is of Campan marble and the tables were designed to match. Mr. Vanderbilt was known to play the violin and Mrs. Vanderbilt the piano, which is a Second Empire French mahogany ormolu mounted piano.
  Morning room – This room, a communal sitting room facing east to admit the morning sun, was used throughout the day, and was designed by the French company head Jules Allard. Placed around the room are platinum-leafed panels illustrated with 8 of the 9 muses. All interior woodwork and furnishings were designed and constructed in France, then shipped to America before assembly.
  Lower loggia
  Billiards room – This room, in the style of ancient Rome, was designed by Richard Morris Hunt and shows his competence in stone works. The great slabs of Cippolino marble from Italy form the walls, while rose alabaster arches provide contrast. Throughout the room there is an assortment of semi-precious stones, forming mosaics of acorns (the Vanderbilt family emblem, intended to show strength and longevity) and billiards balls on the top walls. The Renaissance style mahogany furniture provides further contrast with that of the colored marble.
  Dining room – The 2,400 sq ft (220 m²) dining room is the house's grandest room and has 12 freestanding rose alabaster Corinthian columns supporting a colossal carved and gilt cornice. Rich in allegory, this room serves as an exemplar of what 19th-century technology could do with Roman ideas and 18th-century inspiration. On the ceiling, the goddess Aurora is depicted bringing in the dawn on a four-horse chariot as Greek figures pose majestically. A 16th-century style table of carved oak seats up to 34. Two Baccarat crystal chandeliers light the room with either gas or electricity, and 18, 22 or 24 carat gold gilt adheres to the wall through rabbit skin glue.
  Breakfast room – The breakfast room, with its modified Louis XV style paneling and furnishings, was used for family morning meals. The furnishings, colors and gilt, although still extravagant in their use, contrast with the dining room's more lavish decoration.
  Pantry – A central dumbwaiter serves to bring additional china and glassware down from the mezzanine level. The pantry was also used for the storage of the family's tab
caption: The great hall
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