10 Largest Homes in the United States

I grew up near Newport and have gone to the Breaker House quite a few times. It is magnificent inside, and during Christmas they decorate every room.

I used to work at A.I. DuPont de Nemours Hospital for Children, which is on the grounds of the mansion. Old Al was kicked out of the family business and went on to make two fortunes (he lost the first one and the second one was based on the timber industry and railroads in Florida). Rumor has it that the reason the mansion is surrounded by a huge wall topped with glass is that he wanted to spite the family. (He claimed it was a style he saw in France and liked, which makes sense considering the whole mansion and grounds are modeled after Versailles.) Of course, local rumor also had it that the hospital, in its early days, was a home for mutant inbred DuPonts.

Al is buried in the giant carillon on the property, along with his wife, two dobermans and his accountant. They weren't killed to serve him in the afterlife, as far as we know.

He built the hospital in Wilmington (the foundation opened another one in Jacksonville) for the care of sick children (but, as the language of the trust said, not "incurables").

Anyone else not able to open the link?

I can't open it either

Linky no worky. :-(

Works fine for me.

It wouldn't open for me.
It eventually crashed the browser.

Umm...if by "the one home on the list that is actually owned by the public" you mean the White House...yeah....it's still open for tours:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events

You have to give advance notice, but the first sentence says it best, "Public tours of the White House are available."