It was thanks to F.D. Roosevelt that the mansion, including its contents and surrounding 211 acres (many more originally) were preserved as being typical of the Gilded Age (that lasted until these wealthy industrialists had to begin paying taxes in 1913). With a mile of waterfront the site is beautiful. I am beginning to understand why the Vanderbilts’ weath was not sustained from one generation to the next when money was being spent like this, as well as in Newport as well as in Manhattan. (I am reading a good book: Fortune’s Children by Arthur T.Vanderbilt II.)