Quietly nestled along the Narraganset Bay, the Marble House was the first of the stone palaces to be built in Newport—transforming the quiet colony of wooden houses into a bastion of opulence. She and her parents would spend summers in Newport, Rhode Island. During the Civil War, her family moved to Europe, and she attended a private boarding school in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Spending some of her formative years in the vicinity of Paris, young Alva became a Francophile lover of all things French. She and her family eventually returned to America, living in New York. It would be the first truly grand classical mansion of Newport, Rhode Island. Construction began on the house in It would be a present from her husband for her 39th birthday. Seven million of that was for the marble—, cubic feet of it. Alva was known as a great entertainer, and she sought to build her own social status.
The Ballroom was literally gilded: The elaborate architectural details of the room, first drawn by Hunt, are all covered with gold. Elaborate cornices, pilasters, archways, and panels of bas relief illustrating classical mythology are all covered with 22 karat gold. Above the relief is a 19th-century painting, in the style of the Italian Baroque painter Pietro da Cortona, of the Greek goddess Minerva.
Jules Allard and Sons, the noted Paris design firm, created the interiors for the house. The Stair Hall and its grand staircase, constructed of yellow Sienna marble, features an intricate wrought iron and bronze railing covered with gold. Copied from a railing in the Palace of Versailles, the railing is signed by Allard. The opulent Dining Room is walled in pink Numidian marble with architectural details of gilded bronze. The library is in the Rococo style and features carved walnut bookcases by furniture maker Gilbert Cuel, who worked with Allard to create the room.
Alva had a collection of Medieval and Renaissance objects and artwork, for which the Gothic Room was built. The private quarters upstairs, where the family lived, are finished in the style of Louis XIV. William and Alva had three children.
