“If you were among the elite of the Gilded Age, you didn’t do anything half way”

The Gilded Age in the United States generally referred to the post-Civil War period from the 1870s to the turn of the 20th century, when vast industrial fortunes led to lavish lifestyles for those relatively families. Newport, Rhode Island came to be seen as the most fashionable resort for many wealthy industrialists, with such “summer cottages” as the Breakers, Marble House, Rosecliff, the Elms, and others. Eventually, as Henry Flagler extended the railroad down the Atlantic coast of Florida, St. Augustine became a winter destination with the opening in

1888 of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, before the winter resorts farther south at Palm Beach, Miami Beach, and the Florida Keys became popular.

Today, the primary reminders of the Gilded Age are the magnificent historic houses that are preserved as hotels, museums, and other types of tourist destinations. In addition to the extravagances of the architecture, the Gilded Age also included the development of elaborate social customs, etiquettes, and rules. This writer describes some of these.

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Opulence and Excesses of the Gilded Age

By Cheryl Adams Richkoff

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Accessed July 18, 2017