Titans of Industry Explored in Upcoming Preservation Society Lecture Series

The Preservation Society of Newport County will explore “Titans of Industry” in its 2014 Fall/Winter Lecture Series, beginning next week. The entrepreneurs and innovators of the Gilded Age created the world we know today in ways that are often taken for granted. Guest lecturers will offer their perspectives on the whirlwind of fortunes, inventions and ambitions that shaped the world in the decades following the Civil War.

Advance registration is required for all lectures. Register online at www.NewportMansions.org or by calling (401) 847-1000 ext. 137.

Thursday, October 9, 2014 6:00 p.m. The Elms
New York & Boston: The Whitney Race Underground
Doug Most, Deputy Managing Editor for Features, The Boston Globe, and author

In the late 19th century, as cities like Boston and New York grew more congested, the streets became clogged with horse-drawn vehicles of all kinds. When the Great Blizzard of 1888 crippled the entire Northeast, a solution had to be found. Two brothers from one of the nation’s most prominent families, Henry Melville Whitney of Boston and William Collins Whitney of New York, each pursued the dream of digging America’s first subway, opening an era of rapid urban transit. They were powerful men. Respected, ambitious and rich, they were willing to bribe whomever they needed and able to buy whatever they wanted. Two years apart in age, they would lean on each other, learn from each other, and in one particular moment of desperation, they would even share their most important employee, a brilliant young engineer. A book signing will follow the lecture. Lecture presented in partnership with the Newport Public Library. Admission is free; advance registration required.

Thursday, October 16, 2014 6:00 p.m. Rosecliff
Gilded Age Newport in Color: The African American Summer Experience in Newport, Rhode Island, 1870-1930
Theresa Guzmán Stokes, President, 1696 Heritage Group
Keith Stokes, Vice President, 1696 Heritage Group

Newport, Rhode Island is internationally celebrated as one of America’s leading heritage tourism destinations. However, few know that during the Gilded Age Newport hosted many of the most important African American political, business, and artistic leaders, who traveled here from Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington to take part in a rare opportunity for persons of color within 19th century America for free social and cultural interchange. The lecture will present biographies of many of the most interesting men and women along with a display of black social, religious and political life during that era. Imagery will include people taking part in civic events, bike rides along Bellevue Avenue, bathing at Easton’s Beach, fishing on Cliff Walk and other related activities. Also introduced will be a web site containing biographies and images, including numerous black-owned businesses that catered to black and white customers of Gilded Age Newport. Lecture presented in partnership with Newport 375. Admission is free; advance registration required.

Thursday, November 6, 2014 11:00 a.m. Rosecliff
The Power Makers
Maury Klein, business historian and author

Conventional histories of the Industrial Revolution focus primarily on the technological and financial history of productive industries such as textiles and steel. Professor Klein has done a thorough and engaging study of the technological and financial history of the production and distribution of power itself. The development of steam and electric power shaped the horizons of transport, heavy industry, and the rising metropolises of the industrial era. This lecture will illuminate the interplay of scientific theory, technological progress, and the development of the new business models and corporate structures that each of these power revolutions entailed. A book signing will follow the lecture. Admission: Preservation Society members $5; general admission $10; advance registration required.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Winter Trip: A Visit to the Ayer Mansion, Boston
Led by Jeanne Pelletier, Preservation Advisor, The Campaign for the Ayer Mansion

Built between 1899 and 1902 for businessman and art collector Frederick Ayer, the Ayer Mansion is the country’s only surviving intact residence created by famed American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany. Named a National Historic Landmark in 2005, the Ayer Mansion exemplifies what critics of the day called Tiffany’s “astounding versatility.” Tiffany-designed stone and glass mosaics, graceful metalwork, magnificent light fixtures, Favrile glass vases, custom furniture, intricate plaster work, elaborate stained glass windows, and unexpected architectural flourishes create a cohesive masterpiece. A private luncheon at the Harvard Club will follow the tour.
Admission: Preservation Society members $100; general admission $125. Includes round-trip transportation, lunch and mansion admission. Detailed schedule available on registration. Space is limited and advance registration is required.

Thursday, February 12, 2015 6:00 p.m. Rosecliff
Eiffel’s Tower
Jill Jonnes, historian and author

When self-made millionaire and engineer Gustave Eiffel won a contest to erect a colossal tower as the spectacular centerpiece of the 1889 Exposition Universelle, Parisian tastemakers were outraged, denouncing the proposed thousand-foot tower as a “hideous” blot on their historic city, even as fearful residents brought lawsuits amid predictions of certain structural calamity. Eiffel persevered, overcoming formidable obstacles to create the world’s tallest building. But the Eiffel Tower is only part of this story, for the Paris Exposition itself was a milestone of emerging technology, late 19th century globalism, and an extraordinary flourishing of the arts and journalism. A book signing will follow the lecture. Admission: Preservation Society members $10; general admission $15; advance registration required.

Thursday, March 19, 2015 11:00 a.m. Rosecliff
Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies
Lawrence Goldstone, author

The feud between this nation’s great air pioneers, the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss, was a collision of unyielding and profoundly American personalities. On one side, a pair of tenacious siblings who together had solved the centuries-old riddle of powered, heavier-than-air flight. On the other, an audacious motorcycle racer whose innovative aircraft became synonymous in the public mind with death-defying stunts. For more than a decade, they battled each other in court, at air shows, and in the newspapers. The outcome of this contest of wills would shape the course of aviation history – and take a fearsome toll on the men involved. A book signing will follow the lecture. Admission: Preservation Society members $5; general admission $10; advance registration required.