Marble House was Alva Vanderbilt's 39th birthday present. She later became a leader in the women's suffrage movement.

Once a Vanderbilt gem, Idle Hour now crumbles in silence—its Gilded Age glory fading amid vandalism, tax debt, and neglect.

William's son, Frederick Vanderbilt, and his wife, Louise, purchased a 153-acre Hyde Park property in 1895. Construction on the mansion began in 1895 and was finished three years later.

Marble House is in Newport, Rhode Island.Alexander Nesbitt — The Preservation Society of Newport County ...