Happy Door Day to all, wishing you happy hunting while poking through your door photos for Dan’s weekly invitation at Thursday Doors. Last week I offered up Newport Double Doors, today I’m sharing Newport Iron Gates and next week, Wooden Gates. How incredibly generous that town was with so many fabulous doorportunities!

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This gate door belongs to The Elms, one of the many Newport Mansions along Bellevue Avenue. It was built in 1901 by Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer for Pennsylvania coal magnate Edward Julius Berwind.

This gold and black iron gate belongs to Champ Soleil. It was originally built between 1870 and 1880, has had several names and owners, but most notably owned by the Drexels of the banking world and Drexel University. Sadly, the mansion experienced two major fires, first in 1914 and recently in 2016. Following the 2016 fire it was completely rebuilt into its current iteration, Champ Soleil.

These gate doors open up to Belcourt, another Bellevue Avenue mansion with several owners since built in between 1891 to 1894. It was designed by Richard Morris Hunt (integral to designing the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other Bellevue mansions) for Oliver Perry Belcourt who summered here alongside his many horses. When Hunt became involved with his neighbor, Alva Vanderbilt, the home went through updates bringing it up to ‘snuff’ for everyday living and socializing. Today the home is owned by Alex and Ani jeweler Carolyn Rafaelian. Can you find her personalization on the above gates? And, can you see the pony statue peeking out? There were several on the property. Read here for interesting details about this home and it’s owners throughout the years.

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If ever you get to Newport I highly recommend a ‘stroll’ along the historic Cliff Walk which gives you breathtaking views of many of these mansions while walking along the Rhode Island coast. These gates are along the walk nearing the Breakers, the well known Vanderbilt home. We took time to take the tour of the Breakers, ornate inside and out, but I now realize I DID NOT GET A GATE PHOTO…heavy sigh…but here is a view from the walk.