Situated on the site of a wooden house that was destroyed by fire in 1892, the Breakers Mansion was built by the Vanderbilt family as a stunning summer home in the Italian palazzo design. The Vanderbilts were careful to incorporate stone, brick, and metal into this gilded age mansion to avoid the risk of fire. Modern amenities were added as well–including electricity, which was rare at the time, and gas lights. Built between 1893 and 1895, the mansion sits on 13 acres and has 70 rooms, including 48 bedrooms, and 27 fireplaces. The mansion itself covers nearly an acre of land. In addition to building in the Italian Renaissance style, the mansion was decorated with the finest materials money could buy, including Baccarat crystal chandeliers, platinum wall panels, European tile, and a music room constructed in France and then reconstructed in the mansion.
Visitors and staff alike claim to witness the apparition of Alice Vanderbilt, wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. Alice designed and built the house along with him and spent the summers here with her family. Alice had a hard life, however, and lost four of her five children before her own death in 1934. Rumor has it that she can be found haunting the places she loved best in the mansion, reliving the happy memories with her family. Alice is reputed to be a quiet ghost, most often found on the second floor of the three-story mansion. (Her bedroom was reportedly on the second floor.) Alice has been spotted wearing the fashions of the era. The owners of the mansion have not allowed investigations into the haunting, perhaps because they believe Alice should be left to roam her mansion in peace.
Leave a Reply