Rough Point

Welcome to the Newport home of Doris Duke—heiress, philanthropist and art collector. Enjoy her magnificent oceanfront estate, still decorated as she left it, where you will see French furniture, European art, Chinese porcelains, and Turkish carpets collected from exotic locations around the world. Located on Newport’s exclusive Bellevue Avenue, Rough Point provides a sweeping ocean view and expansive grounds designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

Tour this Newport estate as a welcome guest, and experience life as a 20th-century heiress. All tours are led by a knowledgeable guide. Small, intimate groups of 12–14 guests allow for a relaxed and personal experience. Lasting approximately one hour, the tour visits the entire first floor of the house, then continues upstairs with a visit to Doris Duke's bedroom and to the special exhibition galleries. The 2010 exhibit Doris Duke's Extraordinary Vision: Saving 18th Century Newport explores her passion for preservation.

When Doris Duke inherited Rough Point, her family's Newport summer home, she began a love affair with the City by the Sea. Over the course of nearly 40 years, she dedicated herself to saving Newport's Colonial era houses. Explore how her passion for preservation led to the rescue of more than 80 historic homes in Doris Duke's Extraordinary Vision. Learn Newport's rags to riches story and Doris Duke's role as a guiding force behind it. Find out about her engaged, hands-on approach - from personally selecting paint colors for the houses to locating trees in Queen Anne Square. Hear oral histories about Doris Duke from friends and those who joined her as partners in preservation. See a full-scale model of a house section detailing its construction techniques.

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More about Rough Point: History & Architecture, Gardens & Landscape