The Elms is a large

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

(sometimes facetiously called a "summer cottage") located at 367

Bellevue Avenue The Bellevue Avenue Historic District is located along and around Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of the Gilded Age mansions built by affluent summer vaca ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, completed in 1901. The architect

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of ...

(1868–1938) designed it for the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Edward Julius Berwind Edward Julius Berwind (June 17, 1848 – August 18, 1936) was the founder of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. He was head of the company from 1886 until 1930. Early life Berwind was born on June 17, 1848 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He w ...

(1848–1936), taking inspiration from the 18th century Château d'Asnières in Asnières-sur-Seine,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. C. H. Miller and E. W. Bowditch, working closely with Trumbauer, designed the gardens and

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

. The Preservation Society of Newport County purchased The Elms in 1962, and opened the house to the public. The Elms was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1971, and designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1996.

The estate

The house

The Elms was constructed from 1899 to 1901 and cost approximately 1.5 million dollars to build. Like most Newport houses of the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

, the house was built with non-combustible materials: the house was built around a structural steel frame; the interior partitions, plaster over terra cotta blocks, sit on reinforced concrete floor slabs; the exterior walls are made of brick masonry and clad with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. On the main floor, the principal axis leads from the eastern entrance porch, into an entrance hall with a grand staircase and a marble floor, then into the

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

, and then out to the garden beyond. The wing to the south contains a dining room, breakfast room, and serving pantry (the kitchens were in the basement), while the wing to the north contains a drawing room, library, and conservatory. The second floor contains bedrooms for the family and guests as well as a private

sitting room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room ( Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment ...

. The third floor contains bedrooms for the indoor

servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

The grounds

In keeping with the French architecture of the house, the grounds of The Elms, among the best in Newport, were designed in French eighteenth-century taste and include a sunken garden. The original American elms having succumbed to

Dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...

, the striking shade trees are now weeping beeches.

Ancillary buildings

Trumbauer built a large

carriage house A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open f ...

and stables on the edge of the property, with apartments above for the gardners and stable hands. in 1910, after the Berwind family began using

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

s, the carriage house and stables were replaced by a new garage, clad in limestone, long by deep, one of the largest private garages in America, with a central indoor track, and two gasoline tanks. When automobiles replaced horse-drawn carriages, the Berwind's head coachman became the chauffeur, but because he could not learn to back out of the garage, an automobile turntable had to be installed.

Inspiration

The Elms is considered to be a reinterpretation of the Château d'Asnières, an 18th century house in the town of Asnières-sur-Seine in

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

, France. Nevertheless, it is not a replication; there are significant differences: the flanking sections of château d'Asnières are five bays wide, whereas and those at Trumbauer's house are four bays wide. The balustrade at The Elms is taller, but simpler in detail. Furthermore, the pediment on Trumbauer's garden facade is likely a variation of the pediment at Hôtel Porgès, 18 avenue Montaigne in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, built in 1892 by the architect

Ernest Sanson Ernest-Paul Sanson (Paris, 12 May 1836 – Paris, 15 January 1918) was a French architect trained in the Beaux-Arts manner. Sanson entered the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris at the age of eighteen, and followed the courses offered by Émile ...

. There is no pediment at Château d'Asnières.

History

The Berwind family began spending summers in Newport in the 1890s. By 1898, it was clear that their original property (a small traditional beach

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

) was too small for the grand parties the Berwinds were having, and so they had the place torn down. Berwind hired

to build a much larger house, better fitting his status. Like many of the grandest summer residents of Newport, Edward Berwind was "

new money ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...

" (his parents were

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

); by 1900 his friends included

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany as well as many high-ranking government leaders from Europe and America. At this time Berwind was hailed as "one of the 58 men who rule America", making him one of Newport's most important summer residents. Berwind was interested in

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

, and The Elms was one of the first houses in America to be wired for

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

with no form of backup system. The house also included one of the first electrical ice makers. It was one of the most sophisticated houses of the time. When The Elms opened in 1901 the Berwinds held a huge party. During the next 20 years, Berwind's wife, Sarah, would spend the summers there, the season being from the 4th of July to the end of August; Berwind would come out only on weekends, for his coal-mining interests kept him in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

during the week. Though the Berwinds had no children, their nephews and nieces would come out to visit on a regular basis. On

January 5, 1922 January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the first of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the ...

, Mrs. Berwind died, and Edward asked his youngest sister Julia A. Berwind to move in and become the hostess of The Elms. In 1936, when he died, he willed the house to Julia, who, not being interested in technology, continued to run the house in the same way for the next twenty five years: washers and dryers were never installed at the Elms. Julia was well known in Newport. She would invite children from the nearby Fifth Ward (a

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

immigrant neighborhood) to the estate for milk and cookies. She had a love for cars and would drive around Newport every day in one of her luxury cars. This was somewhat shocking to the rest of Newport society, where it was considered unladylike for women to drive themselves. It was rumored that her social secretary would perform the "white glove test" to make sure there was no dust on the

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...

before Julia got into the driver's seat.

Preservation

In 1961 when

Julia Berwind Julia A. Berwind (1864- May 18, 1961) was a Newport, Rhode Island socialite, and a social welfare activist. Biography She was born in Philadelphia, the sister of coal magnates Edward Julius Berwind and Charles Frederick Berwind. She was the owner o ...

died, The Elms was one of the last Newport cottages to be run in the fashion of the Gilded Age: forty servants were on staff, and Miss Berwind's

social season The social season, or season, refers to the traditional annual period in the spring and summer when it is customary for members of the social elite of British society to hold balls, dinner parties and charity events. Until the First World War, ...

remained at six weeks. Childless, Julia Berwind willed the estate to a nephew, who did not want it and fruitlessly tried to pass The Elms to someone else in the family. Finally the family

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

ed off the contents of the estate and sold the property to a

developer Developer may refer to: Computers *Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications *Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games *Web deve ...

who wanted to tear it down. In 1962, just weeks before its date with the wrecking ball, The Elms was purchased by the Preservation Society of Newport County for $116,000. The price included the property along with adjacent guest houses. Since then, the house has been open to the public for tours. The house was listed on the

in 1971, and was designated a

in 1996. In addition to a self-guided audio tour, The Elms offers a Servant Life Tour, which brings guests to the

basement A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...

to view the coal-fired

furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...

s and the tunnel from which the coal is brought into the basement from a nearby street. The tour shows the lengths to which Mr. Berwind went to keep the servants out of view from guests on all floors of the mansion. Visitors on the Servant Life Tour view the laundry room, steamer trunk storage area, the giant

circuit breaker A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by an overcurrent or short circuit. Its basic function is to interrupt current flow to protect equipment and to prevent the risk ...

box, ice-makers,

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

, and wine cellar below the main floor, and climb the service staircase to the servants' quarters on the third floor. The tour then proceeds out on the level

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

d roof and a small aluminum platform, with a view of the rear lawn, shade trees and gardens, and the vista of Newport harbor in the distance.Roof Tour
/ref>

Notes

References

* *

External links

*
The Elms; Virtual Tour
*

Images

Image:Chateaud'asnières.jpg, Château d'Asnières in France File:Elms, Newport, RI, facing sea, 1968.jpg, The mansion in 1968 File:Elms Mansion gardens, 1968.jpg, Gardens of the mansion, 1968 File:The Rear 2.png, Statue behind the mansion. File:The Elms from Fence.jpg, View of mansion from the grounds. File:Elms Garden, Fountain.jpg, Fountain outside mansion File:STAIRCASE AND HALL, LOOKING SOUTHEAST - The Elms, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,60-19.tif, Staircase and entrance hall File:MRS. BERWIND'S BATHROOM, LOOKING EAST - The Elms, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,60-28.tif, Mrs. Berwind's bathroom File:CARVING ABOVE CENTRAL ENTRANCE PORTAL - The Elms, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,60-7.tif, Carving above central entrance portal File:BALLROOM, LOOKING NORTH - The Elms, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,60-24.tif, Ballroom File:BREAKFAST ROOM, LOOKING SOUTHEAST - The Elms, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,60-27.tif, Breakfast room File:LIBRARY, LOOKING NORTHWEST - The Elms, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,60-21.tif, Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Elms, The Museums in Newport, Rhode Island Historic house museums in Rhode Island Houses in Newport County, Rhode Island Houses completed in 1901 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island 1890s architecture in the United States Neoclassical architecture in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Rhode Island Gilded Age mansions