| In 1956, The Tinneys purchased a piece of real estate | | | | opening ball in 1895. That same year Alva divorced |
| located on 675 Bellevue Avenue for $25,000. Their | | | | and betrothed Oliver. The Honorable Perry Belmont, |
| acquisition of Belcourt Castle, the third largest mansion | | | | the last surviving of Oliver's brothers, took ownership |
| in Newport, Rhode Island, after The Breakers and | | | | of the castle and sold it in 1940. Belcourt changed |
| Ochre Court, would become a lifelong labor of love. | | | | hands several times between 1940 and 1956 when the |
| The medieval-style castle has been an ongoing | | | | Tinneys came along. |
| restoration project since they took up residence. Harle | | | | After plunking down $25,000 for the derelict property, |
| Tinney put her home up for sale in May of 2009 as | | | | they renamed "Belcourt" to "Belcourt Castle" and |
| she found it increasingly difficult to maintain the | | | | opened a museum in 1957. Through a labor of love, the |
| mansion and oversee the weddings, tours and special | | | | family refurbished the mansion and filled it with a |
| events needed to keep it afloat financially after her | | | | collection of art and antiques, 13th century stained |
| husband Donald's death in 2006. Thus far, Belcourt | | | | glass, Renaissance armor, and a gold coronation |
| Castle remains open to the public. Though we may not | | | | coach. Just as Oliver Belmont fell in love with Alva |
| be able to afford the asking price of $7.2 million, a $25 | | | | Vanderbilt when she stepped inside Belmont, while a |
| admission fee is a small price to pay for a 75 minute | | | | student at Brown Univesity, Harle Hope Hanson |
| tour through a museum laden with antiques, rich in | | | | worked as a summer guide at the castle where she |
| architectural splendor, and infused with social history. | | | | met Donald Harold Tinney. The two wed at the castle |
| Currently the sole owner of the castle, Harle Tinney | | | | in 1960. Following Mr. Tinney's death in 2006, a pending |
| frequently guides tours through her home and is often | | | | deal to sell the property fell through. Harle Tinney |
| present to greet visitors when she is in residence. | | | | currently runs the castle with a staff of ten or so, |
| Having toured Belcourt Castle where I had the privilege | | | | places buckets under leaks sprung from roofs, and |
| to engage both Harle and Donald Tinney in a | | | | also leads guided tours. |
| conversation about the stained glass windows, it gives | | | | Besides the splendor of vaulted ceilings, stained glass, |
| me great pleasure to elaborate. Of the 60 rooms at | | | | and suits of armor, a law suit gathered steam as Harle |
| Belcourt, over a dozen may be viewed during a tour: | | | | and Donald Tinney fought a battle over his late |
| English library, banquet hall, chapel, grand halls, music | | | | mother's estate with their former handyman who was |
| room, Empire-style dining room, French Gothic-style | | | | adopted by Tinney's aging mother when he was an |
| ballroom, two main bedrooms, loggia, and gallery. All of | | | | adult. Though Harle and Donald won, legal wranglings |
| the rooms are finished with pieces from the Tinney | | | | continued over inheritance of the mansion. Never mind. |
| family collections which include furnishings along with | | | | Should you be fortunate enough to have Harle Tinney |
| art and artifacts from Europe, the Orient, and from | | | | guide you along your tour, she much prefers to call |
| numerous other Newport mansions. Open to the public | | | | attention to the coronation carriage which she assisted |
| since 1957, the Tinneys' labor of love restored, | | | | her late husband in building. As ghost tours and tours |
| renovated, and preserved Belcourt Castle while | | | | by candlelight are offered at the castle, she will also |
| operating the state's only stained-glass business. | | | | relate to you incidents of paranormal activity, |
| In essence the tale of Belcourt Castle with its | | | | particularly in the ballroom on the second |
| abundant suits of armor, vaulted ceilings, and stained | | | | floor-presence of an entity behind your shoulder, |
| glass begins with its first owner- then, eligible bachelor, | | | | objects being flung in the air, furniture being displaced, |
| Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, an avid collector of | | | | the sound of footsteps, the drop and rise in |
| medieval manuscripts, stained glass, and armor. | | | | temperatures, doors shutting without warning. Some |
| Inheriting 60 million dollars enabled him to hire renowned | | | | individuals have experienced a wave of nausea and |
| Newport architect Richard Morris Hunt to design the | | | | hatred while in the ballroom which disappears as soon |
| 60-room residence which was completed in 1894 at a | | | | as they exit. Two salt chairs in the ballroom |
| cost of $3.2 million. Another "summer cottage" built | | | | purportedly have flung individuals attempting to sit on |
| during the opulent Gilded Age sprung up in the elite | | | | them. The spectral aspect of Belcourt Castle was |
| neighborhood. | | | | featured on an episode of Ghost Hunters. |
| This ostentation is reflected in the castle's distinguishing | | | | Not as pristine as the other mansions in the |
| feature of extensive stables on the ground floor | | | | neighborhood, Belcourt Castle stands apart from its |
| where Belmont's beloved steeds slept under | | | | staid neighbors. Privately owned, the structure is not |
| monogrammed blankets, and carriage areas sprawled | | | | under the auspices of a well-financed, nonprofit |
| on the 3-acre site. Fourteen secret doors and a tunnel | | | | organization, such as the Preservation Society of |
| to the kitchens were located two blocks away for | | | | Newport County, but constitutes a labor of love to |
| fear of fire. Artisans spent three years carving an | | | | maintain it. One might even go so far as to say it looks |
| ornate grand staircase. The Great Room features a | | | | as though the maid has had a few days off. |
| 17th century Italian stained glass and a chandelier with | | | | Nevertheless, do not let shoddy housekeeping or a |
| 13,000 prisms. | | | | leaky roof deter you from accepting an invitation to |
| However long it took for Belcourt to be built, Oliver | | | | tour Belcourt Castle where both mistresses of the |
| Belmont fell for the wife of his best friend and | | | | manor-Alva and Harle, met their knights in shining |
| business partner in no time flat-- Alva Erskine Smith | | | | armor. |
| Vanderbilt, who happened to hostess Belcourt's | | | | |