When Peasants Venture Into The Palace
Since the 1800's, the small, seaside resort of Newport, Rhode Island, has always been filled with palaces: grand chateaus, soaring villas, and elegant mansions all cheekily referred to as "cottages" despite their owners being worth millions upon millions, sometimes billions, of dollars, their square footages being quadruple that of most average homes and costing a fortune just to build. These homes were built with the wealth and grandeur seen only, up until that time, in the royal palaces in Europe and elsewhere overseas and housed the kind of wealth that most Americans couldn't even imagine. Naturally, these palaces-by-the-sea have sparked the curiosity of the general public. When these homes were first built, that wasn't a problem. What is any showy mansion built for? These palaces served to show off the owner's wealth - do you think The Breakers or Marble House were built the way they were out of comfort? They were status symbols and statements in soci...