A Newport Christmas

A Newport Christmas

In this story, a socialite from Newport, Rhode Island, time travels from 1905 to 2025 after wishing on a comet for an escape from an arranged marriage. Instead, the heroine falls in love with a modern historian she meets and has to decide whether to stay or return to life in the 1900s. Stars Ginna Claire Mason and Wes Brown came to Western New York, which had the elements to needed to recreate the oceanside city famous for summer “cottage” Gilded Age mansions.

 

Settings to explore: In the Niagara County waterfront village of Youngstown, with its Yacht Club, Old Fort Niagara, boats set sail in the movie. There the historic setting at the Stone Jug, a tavern in the 1842 Ontario House became a bar and restaurant in the film. Akron, a rural village 40 minutes west of Buffalo, lent its park gazebo for a scene with carriages and horses. In Buffalo, Hallmark made use of the city’s waterfront and mansions.

Buffalo 

This is the Robert and Elisabeth Wilmers building at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum which opens to the public after a $195 million renovation, Thursday, June 15, 2023. Formerly, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery had been closed since November of 2019 for the renovation. Photo by Sharon Cantillon.

Location Stops

The Lincoln Parkway stretch of mansions built by millionaires of a century ago near Frederick Law Olmsted’s Delaware Park became the spot for a romantic walk in the movie. Explore the surroundings to see Buffalo’s own Gilded Age history.

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s nearby buildings, 1285 Elmwood Ave., has its original 1905 Neoclassical beginning at the campus center. For a movie-worthy nautical scene, stop in at the Buffalo Maritime Center, 90 Arthur St., with a museum and a vast space full of historic boats, many in the midst of being refurbished. The center supplied a New England fishing boat, the O.K. Clark, which made more than one appearance in the movie. Spot it out along the waterfront at Canalside in summer as part of the center’s free public sailing program.

Eat & Drink

Stop in for brunch, lunch or dinner at The Terrace, a converted 1875 gathering place, known as a casino, at Delaware Park. It overlooks a small lake and the Buffalo History Museum, built for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition.

Spend the Night

The restored 1898 mansion casino that is now InnBuffalo, 619 Lafayette Ave., offered its rooms for movie scenes. Take a star turn and make a reservation.

Photos from the Set