Although a good number of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue mansions still stand, they are often intermixed with newer construction, so it is hard to recreate that world in New York City today.
While Downton Abbey had Highclere Castle as the main setting, The Gilded Age needed to recreate many mansions of the Gilded Age New York set, along with their summer “cottages” in Newport. Washginton’s founding of the Tuskegee Institute. Season 2 brings with it such historic events as the openings of the Metropolitan Opera House and the Brooklyn Bridge, the rise of labor unions, and Booker T. Over in Brooklyn, Peggy finds her voice as an activist through her writing. All of the drama unfolds beneath the oft-disapproving gaze of Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski).
Across the street, Marian continues to strive for independence and her Aunt Ada surprises all with a new courtship.
Bertha Russell is still fighting her way to the top of the social hierarchy while George Russell is fighting the growing strength of unions.
