Rosecliff Mansion

Rosecliff was built at the turn of the twentieth century for Theresa Fair Oelrichs, heiress to a silver-mining fortune and one of the most celebrated hostesses of Newport society, who wanted a house made for entertaining on the grandest scale. She turned to Stanford White, of the famous firm behind many of the era's great buildings, who designed for her a white terra-cotta palace modeled on the Grand Trianon at Versailles, elegant, symmetrical, and radiant against the sky.

At the center of the house is its glory: a ballroom that is the largest of all the Newport mansions, a soaring, gilded space designed to hold the lavish balls and parties for which Rosecliff became famous. In its heyday the house hosted spectacular entertainments that were the talk of society, and standing in that great room today, it is easy to imagine the music, the gowns, and the glittering crowds of Newport's most extravagant summers.

The house takes its name from its roses, and the grounds of Rosecliff are as much a part of its charm as the mansion itself. Formal gardens, lawns, and a fountain court set off the white house beautifully, and the rose gardens for which it was named bloom in season, while the grounds sweep back toward the Atlantic, giving the estate an airy, seaside grace that softens its grandeur.

Along the ocean edge of the property runs the celebrated Cliff Walk, the public path that threads the back of Newport's great mansions between their lawns and the crashing sea. Rosecliff's setting, poised between its formal gardens and the wild Atlantic, captures the particular magic of Newport, where extraordinary human wealth met the timeless drama of the ocean, and it makes the house a delight to visit inside and out.

Rosecliff's beauty and its grand ballroom have made it a favorite of filmmakers, and the mansion has appeared in a number of movies, most famously as a setting for a screen version of The Great Gatsby, whose story of Jazz Age glamour and excess fit the house perfectly. Other films have used its rooms and grounds as well, drawn by the authentic opulence that no set could match.

That film history is a fitting chapter for a house built as a stage for spectacle. The very qualities that made Rosecliff the scene of legendary parties, its grandeur, its ballroom, its air of a more extravagant age, are what continue to draw cameras and visitors alike, and recognizing the mansion from the screen adds another layer of pleasure to a tour.

Rosecliff is open to the public as a museum, and touring its grand rooms, ballroom, and gardens is a highlight of any visit to Newport. Tours let visitors move through the house at their own pace, taking in the architecture, the furnishings, and the stories of the family and the age, and it is worth allowing time to enjoy the gardens and the views toward the sea as well.

Rosecliff is one of several great mansions strung along Newport's Bellevue Avenue, and many visitors combine a few into a day of exploring the Gilded Age, often walking a stretch of the oceanfront Cliff Walk between them, which runs close to steep, rocky edges and rewards care. Newport is at its busiest in the warm months, so planning ahead for tickets and parking helps, and rewards you with an unforgettable window into one of the most extravagant chapters of American history.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

Rosecliff is a Gilded Age mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, one of the extravagant summer cottages built by America's elite at the turn of the twentieth century, celebrated as one of the most beautiful of them all. Built for the silver heiress and society hostess Theresa Fair Oelrichs and designed by the famed architect Stanford White after the Grand Trianon at Versailles, it is a gleaming white palace made for entertaining, with the largest ballroom of the Newport mansions, rose gardens, and grounds sweeping toward the sea and the Cliff Walk. Now a public museum and a favorite film location, it offers a glamorous window into Newport's golden age. Its beauty and history make it a delightful destination. A glamorous and historic mansion, it enchants visitors. With its ballroom and gardens, Rosecliff offers a compelling destination in Rhode Island.

Rosecliff is famous as one of the loveliest of Newport's Gilded Age mansions, modeled on the Grand Trianon at Versailles and built for a celebrated society hostess as a house for entertaining, and above all for its ballroom, the largest of all the Newport mansions, which hosted some of the most lavish parties of the age. It is also famous as a filming location, most memorably for a screen version of The Great Gatsby, whose Jazz Age glamour suited the house perfectly. Its beauty, its grand ballroom, and its film roles all add to its fame. That blend of glamour and history is the draw of a visit to Rosecliff in Rhode Island.

Yes, Rosecliff is open to the public as a museum, and visitors can tour its grand rooms, its famous ballroom, and its gardens, often at their own pace with an audio guide, taking in the architecture, furnishings, and stories of the family and the Gilded Age. It is worth allowing time to enjoy the rose gardens and the views toward the sea as well. Rosecliff is one of several Newport mansions along Bellevue Avenue, and many visitors combine a few into a day, so planning ahead for tickets in the busy summer season helps. Touring the mansion and grounds makes for a memorable visit to Rosecliff in Rhode Island.

Rosecliff can be enjoyed across the seasons, with the warm months of late spring through early fall the most popular, when the rose gardens bloom, the grounds are at their loveliest, and the Cliff Walk behind the mansion is at its best, though these are also the busiest times in Newport. Spring and fall offer pleasant weather with somewhat smaller crowds, and the mansions often take on special charm during the winter holidays. Because Newport is busiest in summer, planning ahead for tickets and parking helps. For blooming gardens and fine weather aim for late spring through early fall at Rosecliff in Rhode Island.

Rosecliff is on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, within reach of The Breakers and the other great Gilded Age mansions strung along the avenue, the famous oceanfront Cliff Walk that passes behind the property, and the historic harbor town of downtown Newport with its colonial streets, wharves, and seafood a couple of miles away. That makes Rosecliff a compelling stop to combine with The Breakers, the Cliff Walk, and the sights of Newport on a visit to Rhode Island.