Visits through historic homes

Point of view

- By DOROTHY DELGADO NOVICIO

As the last few auburn trees in our neighborhood park shed their leaves to give way to winter, we received an invitation from a family friend to meet up at Tarrytown, north of New York City. Our time together would bring us to the historic Sunnyside, a charming cottage along the Hudson River of Washington Irving, "America's first man of letters."

I love tours of this sort. Months ago, we traveled around the Newport mansions in Rhode Island to peek into the life of America's moneyed clans. Of the six major mansions, we chose The Breakers, an opulent Italian Renaissance summer villa of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his family. The Vanderbilt family operated one of the greatest railroad empires in 19th century America.

Exploring homes of remarkable personalities allows me to imagine life as it was and conjure up scenes, which I had only read from books or had seen from films. In excursions like this I try to draw insights from thought-provoking or inspiring vignettes of their storied lives and weave them into our current realities.

At the tour of The Breakers, it was quite inconceivable how in the late 1800's, a 70-room mansion by the sea, equipped with technological wonders such as plumbing, heating and electricity existed. Interestingly, the 13-acre summer home dazzled with lavish pieces of furniture, luxurious chandeliers and artworks, a massive library and rooms for every activity and occasion. Astounded by the mind-blowing extravagance and tales of how summers were spent in the Vanderbilts' vacation home, I came to know that running the household was made possible and sustained by a legion of 40 staff.