Marble House was Alva Vanderbilt's 39th birthday present. She later became a leader in the women's suffrage movement.

The foyer and staircase at Marble House. John W. Corbett — The Preservation Society of Newport County Alva Vanderbilt chose a golden-brown Italian marble for the floors, walls, and grand staircase.

She is a team leader at Marble House, where she has been leading tours through the storied Vanderbilt mansion since 2020. She also gives tours at a number of other Newport Mansions.

Alva, however, maintained custody of their children and ownership of Marble House and received a hefty settlement when she divorced Vanderbilt on the grounds of adultery.

Alva Vanderbilt opened the room to the public but closed Marble House in 1925, moved to France and put the art up for sale.

Built between 1888 and 1892 for her and her husband, William Kissam Vanderbilt, the Marble House is done in the Beaux-Arts style and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, the era's star East Coast ...