After the original, wooden house called The Breakers was destroyed by fire in 1892, Cornelius Vanderbilt II went to great trouble and expense to make its replacement as fireproof as possible. That’s why, when the current house was built in 1893-95, the boilers and other utilities were placed underground and far from the residence, connected to the basement by a 360-foot-long tunnel. Those underground spaces are the focus of our Beneath The Breakers Tour, which will return in October after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus caused by the COVID pandemic. You’ll learn about technology that was state-of-the-art in the Gilded Age and how it made The Breakers comfortable, safe and sanitary to a degree never known before. Your guide will also explain the new geothermal technology that regulates the house’s interior climate to help protect its furnishings, artworks and other precious historic objects. Beneath The Breakers will be offered twice daily, and tickets are for a specific date and time. ...