The last castle isn’t really a castle at all–it was a “summer cottage” built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II. It has 70 rooms and 125,000 sq. ft., of which 62,000 is living area. The Breakers was built between 1893-95 at a cost of $11,000,000 ($110,000,000 in today’s dollars). Almost half of the 70 rooms were for the staff, who went about their duties via hidden passageways and doors rarely being seen. Today The Breakers is owned by The Preservation Society of Newport, which conducts tours for about 400,000 visitors per year. The first photo shows it from the front under construction in 1894 and then, in the third photo, newly completed in 1895 . The backyard view is dated 1909 (click to enlarge).
