Gilded Age Fireplace Designs Monumental, Majestic...and Rustic?
Gilded age fireplace designs are especially notable for their imposing size and often lavish ornamentation . . . . .
. . . Carved from the most beautiful and sumptuous of marbles imported from all over the world, they -- and
the grand mansions that house them -- stand as a lasting tribute to outstanding craftsmanship and the leading architects,
designers and artisans that created them!
Welcome to one of the most dynamic and transformative periods in U.S. his- tory, an era that ushered in
many of the highlights and conflicts of modern American life! The
Gilded Age
was a period of unprecedented economic and population growth in the United States from the post - Civil War era to
the dawn of the twentieth century. The production of iron and steel rose dra- matically and western resources
like lumber, gold, and silver increased the demand for improved transportation. Railroad development boomed as
trains moved goods from the resource-rich West to the East. Steel and oil were in great demand. A tidal wave of
immi- grants arrived on American soil to pro- vide the manpower necessary to har- vest the abundance of natural
resourc- es, as well as to toil in the steel mills and factories that transformed these natural resources into a
wide range of useful products.
In the process, immense wealth was created by many of the investors and businessmen involved in these endeavors. Individuals such as John D. Rocke- feller (oil), Andrew Carnegie (steel), and "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt (shipping & railroads) accumulated vast fortunes. As was the custom of the day, many of these industrialists and/or their heirs were all too eager to dis- play their wealth by building magnificent townhouses and country estates. Indeed, the term "Gilded Age," itself, was coined by Mark Twain to describe, i.e., ridicule, such ostentatious displays of personal wealth.
It was a time when conspicuous consumption was "in." A time when merely "keeping up with the Joneses" was not enough. Rather, it was imperative among the wealthy to outdo the Joneses -- in a BIG way. In other words, "if you've got it . . . FLAUNT it!"
And nobody was better at flaunting it than the descendants of "Commodore" Vanderbilt -- particularly his grandchildren. Biltmore House (pictured at top, left), in Asheville, North Carolina, was completed in 1895 for George Washing- ton Vanderbilt. Designed by prominent architect Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895), the mansion was modeled after French chateaux and encompasses 135,000 sqare feet and 250 rooms -- making it the largest privately-owned home in America. Still owned by one of Vanderbilt's descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age in the United States. The marble fireplace design for the library pictured above right, and directly below, is indicative of the monumental scale and massing of this majestic architectural jewel.
Though George Vanderbilt may have built the largest home in America, many of his older siblings built a
veritable collection of homes -- from magnificent mansions on New York City's Fifth Avenue (since razed) to
extravagant sum- mer homes throughout the Northeast. However, the undisputed capital of America's Gilded Age
was Newport, Rhode Island -- the location of some of the most opulent of the Vanderbilt mansions.
The marble-walled dining room and gilded ballroom that follow (left and right, respectively) are just two of the lavishly appointed rooms in the aptly named Marble House, pictured in the second row, below. Commissioned by William K. Vanderbilt as a birthday present for his wife, Alva, it was inspired by the Pe- tit Trianon at
Versailles
and, once again, was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt.
The grandest Gilded Age mansion in Newport was completed in 1885 for yet another Vanderbilt brother.
Modeled after an Italian Renaissance palace, The Breakers (pictured below) was commissioned by
Cornelius Vanderbilt II, namesake and grandson of the "Commodore." The architect? None other than the prolific
and extremely talented Richard Morris Hunt.
The fireplace designs (second row) pictured below the exterior image of The Breakers include a regal
hooded design in the dining room (left) and a unique- ly colored marble and gilt mantelpiece in the music room
(right).
The magnificent wood-paneled library that follows is anchored by an extraor- dinary antique
Caen stone
fireplace imported from France for The Breakers.
In keeping with the popular French de- sign of the period, the images at right and below depict another
French in- spired Newport treasure, The Elms, completed in 1901. Designed by archi- tect Horace Trumbauer
(1868-1938), the home was modeled after the Cha- teau d'Asnieres in Asnieres-sur-Seine, France for coal baron
Edwin Berwind. Note the magnificent contrasting col- ored marble fireplace surround in the wood carved and
paneled dining room.
Perceptions aside, all the gold and glitter portrayed above does not tell the entire story of the tastes and preferences of the Gilded Age's wealthy. After all, everyone needs a break now and then. As with many of us, contemporaries of the Gilded Age also enjoyed getting away from it all by going "camping" in the mountains and deep woods. And fortunately, the beautiful Adirondack Mountain region of upstate New York provided a perfect setting and escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. However, "roughing it" in the Adirondacks was a much dif- ferent experience for the wealthy of the Gilded Age than for those less privi- leged.
The image below with the rustic stone fireplace design only hints at how the capitalists and captains of industry "toughed it out" in the wilderness during the Gilded Age . . . . .
