7 pm
Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Library
111 Library St NE
Grand Rapids MI 49503
With its spectacular natural scenery, pristine beaches, and gentle ocean breezes, Newport, RI, was the summer playground for many of America's elite families, and by 1880, it had earned the title “Queen of Resorts.” Fashionable summer colonists including the Vanderbilts, Belmonts, and Astors, hired some of the nation's leading architects, including Richard Morris Hunt, Richard Upjohn, and McKim, Mead & White, to design their summer “cottages” along Newport's shore. These houses were the backdrops for lavish entertainment—debutante balls, weddings, and grand celebrations in honor of royalty. Through the lens of Newport's most iconic buildings, Caitlyn Emery, Research and Interpretation Coordinator at The Preservation Society of Newport County, will examine some of the city's most legendary personalities.
Comments, like all content, are held to The Rapidian standards of civility and open identity as outlined in our Terms of Use and Values Statement. We reserve the right to remove any content that does not hold to these standards.