BEECHWOOD MANSION

Built for a wealthy New York merchant in 1851 by Calvert Vaux (who designed Central Park) and Andrew Jackson Downing, this impressive mansion was bought in 1880 by the Astor family, who had long been the nerve centre of Newport's high aristocracy. Mrs. Astor kept a prestigious bookkeeping account: "the 400 list", four hundred notables who had the privilege of being invited to receptions at Beechwood. Unfortunately, since its purchase in 2010 by billionaire Larry Ellison, the house has not been visited since then.