Astors' Beechwood Home

[Trent Pheifer]

Hey
I was just surfing the web and fell upon this site, it is J.J. Astor IV Beechwood estate. It was where him and Madeline married before going to Europe. I was wondering if anyone had been to it, it's in Newport, Rhode Island, the site is The Astors' Beechwood I want to visit it it sounds kewl.

-Trent

 

[Karen Angstadt]

Let me just say(having toured the home last Wednesday)it is awesome. The only sad thing to me was, the home is no longer in the Astor family. The actors there play parts of various people in the Astor relation and constantly make reference to "Mrs Astor", meaning J. J. Astors' mother. The house is beautiful and pretty much looks to me like it would of when J. J.Astor lived there. The neat thing about the "performance" is that it takes place in 1891 on the day J. J. and Avas'(I think that's his first wifes' name)son was born. They do have a board with a newspaper headline about the Titanic disaster and a short bit about it, but you're not allowed to ask the actors questions because it hasn't happened yet(they live in 1891). There was a gentleman there who would answer questions though, but I figured he couldn't tell me anything I didn't know from reading this site. Sorry for rambling on, as you can tell I enjoyed it. Karen Sweigart

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Karen! You got married I see and came up for your honeymoon. I was waiting to hear from you- glad you went to Beechwood- so much Titanic-related stuff in this area. Hope you got to the Breakers and Fall River and also to Mystic to see the Smith letters. Of course, I guess I would have been kinda like a fifth wheel on a honeymoon-but sorry I missed seeing you and the new hubby. The site for the mansion is http://www.astors-beechwood.com/Home.html, and the actors seldom give the same show twice. Some days J.J. is there in character- PRE- 1912 of course. I have recently learned he and Madeline had planned some expansion and refurbishment of the mansion when they returned to Newport in 1912. So sad to stand in front of that fireplace in the ballroom and remember their nuptials there in Sept. 1911 and to see the ocean wave motif of the decor -ironic. Trent, you will have to come up for the Gilded Age Tour this spring.

 

[Karen Angstadt]

Wow! I didn't know they did different tours. I would have liked to chat with J.J. We got to Mystic, but missed the letters. I'd like to go back to RI, loved it!! Karen Sweigart.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Mrs. Karen Sweigart, congratulations!

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Tracy Smith]

I lived in Swansea, Mass as a child, so I've seen all this stuff. Unfortunately, I visited the mansions in Newport at an age where I wasn't old enough to appreciate them.

I've been to Mystic several times and enjoyed that.

Also there is the maritime museum in Fall River which is a must-see, and next door to that are a WWII battleship, a destroyer, and a sub available to tour.

 

[Karen Angstadt]

Thank you Michael! I have to get used to seeing that name and having it mean me.
I wish I would have gotten to see the letters in Mystic. I did find a 1st edition "The Night Lives On" by Walter Lord though. It was kind of exciting, even though I'm sure it's not worth alot of money. I also found "Raise the Titanic" by Clive Cussler, but could only afford one. I figured Walter Lord is more respected, but wasn't sure. Karen Sweigart

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Hi Karen, I read Raise the Titanic almost twenty years ago. Clive Cussler doesn't do a shabby job with his work. Of course, discoveries made since then (The ship really HAD broken in two. Jack Theyer was right!) means some of the material is badly dated. Still, a good adventure story...and a hell of a lot better then the movie.

Tracy, I'll have to check out that Battleship Massachusetts Museum if I ever get up that way. For a sister ship a bit closer to home, try the USS Alabama down in Mobile Bay. They've got a sub there too.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Karen Angstadt]

So would you have gotten "The Night Lives On" or "Raise The Titanic" if faced with the decision? I wasn't sure which one to get. "Raise The Titanic" is older(1976)so I had that one at first, then I found "The Night Lives On" and had already read it so I picked it.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

"The Night Lives On" hands down. Fiction is fun, but when your primary interest is the history, it pays to get a history book.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hi Karen and Michael,

Karen, first of all congratulations! I picked up "Raise the Titanic" a few years ago and I enjoyed it. Michael's right, Clive Cussler didn't do too badly.

Michael, I agree with you. I'm reading "The Night Lives On" right now. I'm enjoying it and it also wins hands down with myself when it comes to history and getting all the facts.

Best regards,

Jason

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I had a copy of The Night Lives On somewhere in my monsterous pile...and it plain got lost when my family moved down to South Carolina. I'll have to get around to replacing it in the near future. Hopefully befor it ends up going out of print.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Karen Sweigart]

Hey Michael, I'll give you my 2nd or 3rd edition now that I have a 1st edition.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Be careful what you tempt me with.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Karen Sweigart]

Sending it to you wouldn't cost me much I'm sure, what's your address?? Karen