Rhode Island
A trip to Newport, R.I., inspired by HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ – The Boston Globe
Since its premiere in 2022, the cable giant’s original series, “The Gilded Age,” a drama focused on New York City’s 19th century elite, has brought renewed intrigue to the Ocean State’s “Gold Coast.”
“I think the show itself has put Newport back on this global sphere,” Cassandra Earle, communications director for Discover Newport, told the Globe. “We’ve had interest from people from across the globe coming to Newport because of this series.”
And for fans of the show, it’s easy to get up close with the glamour gracing their television screens.
The production has filmed scenes for its two seasons in the storied properties that line scenic Bellevue Avenue and other locations around the city that have long been museums open to the public. (The series will be back to film this fall, as HBO readies for Season 3, Earle confirmed.)
“[The series] brings … a nice light to the Gilded Age time period, which a lot of people were not familiar with and didn’t understand,” said Melanie Garcia, director of visitor experience for the Preservation Society of Newport County, which maintains the Newport Mansions. “And that’s what we’re all about here.”
So, are you thinking about a “Gilded Age” inspired trip to Newport? Here are a few ideas to consider when stepping back in time:
Exploring the grounds
The collection of historic properties known as the Newport Mansions spans six sites, including The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms, Chateau-sur-Mer, Kingscote, and the Green Animals Topiary Garden, all open to the public.
While self-led and guided tours are staple offerings regularly available to visitors, devoted fans of the HBO series may be most interested in the mansions’ show-specific tour.
On the popular “Inside ‘The Gilded Age’ Tour,” attendees are shown the rooms at four of the mansions where scenes of the show were filmed and get the “inside scoop on what it takes to host a major television production,” the website for the Newport Mansions boasts.
“I think definitely people who come on the tour have a passion for the show,” Garcia said. “They’ve been watching it, and they’re really excited to see places that it was filmed at. A lot of people really enjoy getting that behind the scenes information.”
Tickets a $200 each for Preservation Society members and $250 each for nonmembers to The Elms, Marble House, The Breakers, and Chateau-sur-Mer, where refreshments are served on the porch.
“It is kind of like a whirlwind tour,” Garcia said, adding ticket-holders receive guest passes to be able to return to the four properties at their own leisure.
Tickets are $200 each for Preservation Society members and $250 each for nonmembers. Those interested should act soon, as the tour is only offered select times throughout the year, and for now, the next string of tours are booking for Tuesdays and Fridays in September and spots are limited, Garcia said.
HBO fans looking to take in even more of the show’s setting may want to venture over to the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Bellevue Avenue, where some of the show’s scenes were filmed on the facility’s Horseshoe Court. There is no charge for the public to stroll the grounds, according to Megan Erbes, director of communications for the Hall of Fame.
Taking in tea time
For a sophisticated experience, consider taking in afternoon tea at the Chinese Tea House, located on the same property as the Marble House, the 1892 mansion William Vanderbilt built for his wife, Alva.
Through Sept. 2, afternoon tea and dining is offered on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and on Labor Day, before switching to only Saturdays and Sundays in September and October, according to the website.
Discover Newport, the city’s visitor center, also offers other suggestions for visitors craving the afternoon tea experience.
Getting around in style

While historians may note the Gilded Age technically ended before the first shots of World War I were fired in 1914, who would turn down a ride in a classic, 1920s car?
Take a drive back in time with Newport Classic Car Co., which offers various private group tours around Newport, including trips to the mansions, in authentic antique cars, such as a 1924 Studebaker convertible, starting at $45 per person.
“We stop in front of each home narrate it, tell you about it. And some of our packages do include admission,” owner Ken Hudson said. “It all depends on which one you do.”
Hudson also operates Newport Classic Yacht Co., which offers private sightseeing cruises on a 42-foot 1928 antique wooden commuter yacht, once owned by a wealthy family of Bostonians nearly a century ago.
“You do see mansions that are on the inner harbor that you will not see from the street side in the car,” Hudson said. “So it does also provide a little extra experience.”
Pricing for the boat charter begins at $400 and varies by cruise.
Staying at an historic inn
“Gilded Age” fans looking for an-around-the-clock immersive experience can also consider booking a two-night stay at the historic Castle Hill Inn on Ocean Avenue.
The 1874 inn, initially built as one of Newport’s “summer cottages,” offers a special package inspired by the HBO series that includes daily breakfast and afternoon tea, a “tasting-menu” experience for two at Aurelia at Castle Hill, two mansion tickets, and access to a self-guided audio tour of Newport’s Cliff Walk, among other perks. Pricing starts at $1,300 per night.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
Rhode Island
Truckers ordered to pay own legal bills from failed RI toll lawsuit
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The trucking industry will have to pay its own legal bills for the unsuccessful eight-year-old lawsuit it brought to stop Rhode Island’s truck toll system, a federal judge ruled Friday, March 27.
The American Trucking Associations was seeking $21 million in attorneys fees and other costs from the state, but a decision from U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. says the truckers lost the case and will have to pick up the tab.
The state had previously filed a counterclaim for reimbursement of $9 million in legal bills, but an earlier recommendation from U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan had already thrown cold water on that possibility.
McConnell ordered American Trucking Associations to pay Rhode Island $199,281, a tiny fraction of the amount the state spent defending the network of tolls on tractor trailers.
Settling the lawyer tab may finally bring an end to a court fight that bounced back and forth through the federal judiciary since the toll system launched and the truckers brought suit in 2018.
As it stands, the state’s truck toll network has been mothballed since 2022 when a since-overturned judge’s ruling temporarily ruled it unconstitutional.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation said it hopes to relaunch the tolls around March 2027.
The court costs fight hinged on which side could claim legal “prevailing party” status as the winner of the lawsuit.
The trucking industry claimed that it had won because the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled an in-state trucker discount mechanism, known as caps, in the original truck toll system was unconstitutional.
But Rhode Island argued that it is the winner because the appeals court had ruled that the larger system and broad concept of truck tolls is constitutional and can relaunch with the discounts stripped out.
“The Court determines that ATA has vastly overstated the benefit, if any, that they have received from the ultimate resolution of their challenge to the RhodeWorks program,” McConnell wrote.
The truckers “failed to obtain any practical benefit from the First Circuit’s severance of the [in-state toll] caps,” he went on. “Specifically, the evidence from this dispute confirmed that the lack of daily caps will result in ATA paying a higher amount in daily tolls and that it does not receive any tangible financial benefit from their elimination.”
In her December analysis of the legal fees question, Sullivan had concluded that the Trucking Associations’ outside counsel had overbilled and overstaffed the case.
But she had recommended that the industry be reimbursed $2.7 million for its bills, while McConnell’s ruling gives it nothing.
Rhode Island
Think you’re middle class in Rhode Island? Here’s the income range
Here are five ways how you can save some money when food shopping.
Here are five ways how you can save some money when food shopping.
Your household can earn more than $160,000 a year and still be considered part of the “middle class” in Rhode Island, according to a recent study by SmartAsset.
Rhode Island is the state with the 17th-highest income range for households to be considered middle class, based on SmartAsset’s analysis using 2024 income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning roughly two-thirds to twice the national median household income.
According to a 2022 Gallup survey, about half of U.S. adults consider themselves middle class, with 38% identifying as “middle class” and 14% as “upper-middle class.” Higher-income Americans and college graduates were most likely to identify with the “middle class” or “upper-middle class,” while lower-income Americans and those without a college education generally identified as “working class” or “lower class.”
Here’s how much money your household would need to bring in annually to be considered middle class in Rhode Island.
How much money would you need to make to be considered middle class in RI?
In Rhode Island, households would need to earn between $55,669 and $167,008 annually to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. The Ocean State has the 17th-highest income range in the country for middle-class households.
The state’s median household income is $83,504.
How do other New England states compare?
Rhode Island has the fourth-highest income range for middle-class households in New England. Here’s what households would have to earn in neighboring states:
- Massachusetts (#1 nationally) – $69,885 to $209,656 annually; median household income of $104,828
- New Hampshire (#6 nationally) – $66,521 to $199,564 annually; median household income of $99,782
- Connecticut (#10 nationally) – $64,033 to $192,098 annually; median household income of $96,049
- Rhode Island (#17 nationally) – $55,669 to $167,008 annually; median household income of $83,504
- Vermont (#19 nationally) – $55,153 to $165,460 annually; median household income of $82,730
- Maine (#30 nationally) – $50,961 to $152,884 annually; median household income of $76,442
Which state has the highest middle-class income range?
Massachusetts ranks as the state with the highest income range to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. Households there would need to earn between $69,900 and $209,656 annually. The state’s median household income is $104,828.
Which state has the lowest middle-class income range?
Mississippi ranks last for the income range needed to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. Households there would need to earn between $39,418 and $118,254 annually. The state’s median household income is $59,127.
Rhode Island
AARP report highlights scale and value of unpaid caregiving in Rhode Island
“Nationally there are 59 million Americans who are providing care for a loved one and that is 49.5 billion hours of care annually. It’s valued at a trillion dollars,” said Catherine Taylor, the director of AARP Rhode Island; AARP, the nation’s largest non- profit, dedicated to empowering people 50 and older.
In Rhode Island, the report shows 155,000 people serve as caregivers, providing 111 million hours of care.
Barbara Morse reports on unpaid caregivers. (WJAR)
“The total impact is $2.8 billion a year,” said Taylor.
It’s not just babysitting a loved one.
Catherine Taylor, the director of AARP Rhode Island, spoke with NBC 10’s Barbara Morse about the value of caregiving. (WJAR)
“People are doing a lot more nursing tasks, you know–wound care, injections and things like that and they’re doing a lot more intensive daily care, like bathing, and dressing and feeding than we used to,” she said.
Its latest report–“Valuing the Invaluable.”
“The whole point of this report is to draw attention to how many family care givers there are and what the magnitude of what the need is for their support,” said Taylor.
That includes financial support and respite care.
AARP wants you to know this:
An older man using equipment in a gym. (FILE)
In Rhode Island, temporary caregiver insurance or TCI is available to folks who qualify, for up to eight weeks.
There are federal tax credits you may qualify for. There is help.
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“All you have to do is call 211 and say you’re a family caregiver and they will connect you to all of AARP’S trusted information, including a Rhode Island specific guide on resources for caregivers,” she said.
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