Rosecliff
a Newport, Rhode Island "cottage"
Commissioned by Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs in 1899, architect Stanford White modeled Rosecliff after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat of French kings at Versailles. After the house was completed in 1902, at a reported cost of $2.5 million, Mrs. Oelrichs hosted fabulous entertainments here, including a fairy tale dinner and a party featuring famed magician Harry Houdini.
"Tessie", as she was known to her friends, was born in Virginia City, Nevada.
Her father, James Graham Fair, was an Irish immigrant who made an enormous
fortune from Nevada's Comstock silver lode, one of the richest silver finds in
history. During a summer in Newport, Theresa met Hermann Oelrichs playing
tennis at the Newport Casino. They were married in 1890.
A year later, they purchased the property known as Rosecliff from the estate of historian and diplomat George Bancroft. An amateur horticulturist, it was Bancroft who developed the American Beauty Rose. The Oelrichs later bought additional property along Bellevue Avenue and commissioned Stanford White to replace the original house with the mansion that became the setting for many of Newport's most lavish parties.
the water side of the mansion
the lily fountain
