Built for William Vanderbilt between 1888 and 1892, Newport, Rhode Island’s Marble House, is the summer cottage that started it all. Vanderbilt gave the estate to his wife, Alva, on her 39th birthday. Photo: Preservation Society of Newport County
Three years after receiving Marble House, Alva divorced William Vanderbilt, married Oliver Belmont and moved down the street to another mansion. When Oliver died, she reopened Marble House and played host to suffragette rallies, but eventually moved to Paris and sold the house in 1935. Photo: Preservation Society of Newport County
Christmas activities at the Newport mansions begin in November and continue through the first week of January. Marble House is decorated with hundreds of poinsettias, drenched in fresh flowers, wreaths, huge trees and trimmed in silver and gold. Santa makes his lap available every Saturday before the big day. Photo: Preservation Society of Newport County
Night-time is a unique time at Marble House when it is bathed in candlelight and the Christmas trees are aglow. Visitors are serenaded by live jazz bands, choirs and opera tenors. Photo: Preservation Society of Newport County
With the Blue Ridge Mountains as its backdrop, Asheville, North Carolina's Biltmore is the largest privately owned home in America. George Washington Vanderbilt II built the sprawling 8,000-acre estate between 1889 and 1895. Photo: John Warner
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, the grandson of George Vanderbilt, inherited the Biltmore from his parents and still owns the 41,000-square-metre home. His cousin, Gloria Vanderbilt, is the mother of CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Photo: The Biltmore Company
Every Christmas, parts of the 252-room castle are decked out with 41 trees, the largest being a 10-metre-tall Fraser located in the banquet hall. This monstrosity requires the brawn of more than 30 Biltmore staffers to lift it into place. Photo: The Biltmore Company
Christmas Candlelight tours are especially jaw dropping when Biltmore glows in 30,000 lights and more than 150 candles. At least 13,000 ornaments twinkle on the trees while at dusk, Biltmore elves (staff members) rush to set up 300 luminaries that will greet visitors when they reach the estate. Photo: The Biltmore Company
Biltmore has a total of 65 fireplaces and on the Christmas tour you’ll see them decked out in fresh garland and holly. More than 1,000 poinsettias, along with more than 1,000 amaryllis, Christmas cactus, orchids, peace lilies and other plants are placed throughout the estate and the grounds. Photo: The Biltmore Company
Located on California’s Central Coast, north of San Luis Obispo and the sleepy beach towns of Cayucos and Cambria, is America’s most eclectic residence, Hearst Castle, eponymously named after its owner, William Randolph. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado
For its Christmas tours, the castle features a splendid five-metre-tall tree, mantles festooned with garland and holly, as well as docents dressed in period costumes, laughing and enjoying holiday cocktails. The main house, Casa Grande, features 38 bedrooms, 42 bathrooms, 14 sitting rooms and 30 fireplaces. Photo: Vickie Garagliano
Evening tours at Hearst Castle are especially fun as you get to see multiple rooms and locations that are not part of the daytime tours. Photo: Carlos Hoyos
Located in Akron, Ohio, Stan Hywet was built between 1912 and 1915 for Goodyear Tyre founder F A Seiberling and his wife, Gertrude. For its inspiration, the couple travelled to Europe with their architect, Charles Sumner Schneider, where they were given unprecedented access to English manors and other estates. Photo: Ian Adams
A National Historic Landmark, Stan Hywet is the 14th largest home in the nation and the sixth-largest with public access. The 6,000-square-metre estate includes five historic buildings and eight historic gardens on 70 acres. Photo: Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens
Stan Hywet staff and volunteers pitch in with the Christmas decorations. Photo: Tim Evanson
Overlooking the city of Portland is Pittock Mansion, a grand chateau built in 1909 by a wealthy publisher and his wife who immigrated to the US from London. It was not completed until 1915 and its inhabitants Georgiana and Henry died in 1918 and 1919, respectively. Photo: Pittock Mansion/Amy Mintonye
When the mansion was facing destruction, the citizens of Portland rallied around Pittock and raised $75,000 to help the city purchase the estate. Their efforts were rewarded and the city not only recognised the historic significance of the structure but also gave $225,000 to complete the purchase. Photo: Pittock Mansion/Amy Mintonye
After 15 months of extensive restorations, Pittock Mansion welcomed its first visitors and continues to thrive. Photo: Pittock Mansion/Amy Mintonye
Check out the old-school bathroom, which has all its original hardware, including a cast iron, claw-footed sitz bath. Photo: Pittock Mansion/Amy Mintonye
Also located in Newport, Rhode Island, is the Breakers mansion, which was built as a summer retreat for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, son of William H Vanderbilt. Photo: Amy Meredith
The Italian Renaissance-style mansion was built in 1895 and clocks in at at 6,000 square metres, making it the 16th largest home in America. During Christmas, there is plenty of room to host visitors as they watch twirling ballerinas, jazz ensembles and even choirs. Photo: John W Corbett
The Breakers replaced a building that burnt to the ground, which led to Vanderbilt’s insistence that no structural elements of the home be made from wood, save the flooring, trim and molding. Consequently, its main components include marble, concrete, steel, limestone and brick; the roof is terracotta. Photo: John W Corbett
Underneath the Louis XV-style panelling in the home’s breakfast room is solid limestone, while below the chevron-patterned wood floor is concrete and steel. Photo: John W Corbett
The family music room’s gilt coffered ceiling is lined with silver and gold and bears the inscription 'chanson, musique, harmonie et la melodie', French for 'song, music, harmony and melody'. Photo: Preservation Society of Newport County
The music room’s fireplace was a popular gathering spot when the family enjoyed concerts at the Breakers. The mantle is made of veined Campan marble as are the tables, which were designed to match. The rare marble was imported from France. Photo: Preservation Society of Newport County
The Vanderbilt family leased the Breakers to the Preservation Society of Newport in County in 1948 for $1 a year. The group later purchased the home in 1972 for less than $400,000 with the stipulation that the family could still reside on site. Photo: Wally Gobetz
Located on the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York, Lyndhurst was originally designed in 1838 to be a country villa for New York politician William Paulding. Upon his death, it was passed to George Merritt, who doubled its size. Photo: Lyndhurst
It is a Lyndhurst tradition to suspend a Christmas tree from the parlour room ceiling, perhaps to show that while the house is grand, no one is putting on airs. Photo: Lyndhurst
The Elms rounds out the Christmas tour of Newport’s mansions of the Gilded Age. Built between 1899 and 1901, it cost approximately $1.5 million and served as the summer home for Edward Julius Berwind and his family. Photo: Wally Gobetz
The ballroom at the Elms once played host to the socialites of the Gilded Age. After the death of Berwind's sister, Julia, the Preservation Society of Newport County bought the mansion for less than $120,000. Photo: John W Corbett
Julia Berwind was said to be one of Newport’s last great hostesses and continued traditions set for entertaining in the Gilded Age throughout the 1950s and until her death in 1962. Photo: John W Corbett
