Group Declares Victory In Legal Battle Over Breakers Mansion

The group that owns The Breakers mansion, which is located in Newport, is declaring victory in its long battle to build a visitors center. The Rhode Island Supreme Court will not block the plans of the group to construct a building.

Visitors center opponents declared on Tuesday that they are disappointed because they lost in the court. Anyway, they will pressure the Preservation Society of Newport County to abandon the plan and preserve the historic integrity of The Breakers.

The Breakers was completed in 1895, it was built by railroad businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt II. The 70-room mansion sits on a 13-acre estate that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

The group will advance with its expansion plans

The high court declined to intervene in an attempt to block zoning approval for this project. The nonprofit group's board chairman, Monty Burnham, called it good news for the more than 450,000 people who visit The Breakers each year. 

Burnham declared that having modern hospitality for visitors to this National Historic Landmark is vital. It is time to set aside the differences over this project and move on to strengthen Newport's future.

The society's lawyer told The Newport Daily News that the group will now work to hire a contractor and get the right permits. The society wants to a building that serves as a visitors center.

There are strong opponents who reject this project

A neighborhood group, members of the Vanderbilt family and some local and national preservationists believe that a visitors center will destroy the historic nature of the landscape. They say the new building should be located in the parking lot across the street.

Some opponents have created a new group, Friends of Newport Preservation, which plans to launch its campaign on Thursday. The group released a letter, written by Benjamin Lenhardt, chairman of the New York-based Garden Conservancy, Lenhardt's letter states the project would destroy crucial design and historic elements in The Breakers landscape.

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