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 as summer retreats aroun ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, 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 t ...

(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 Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

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

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. H ...

(1848–1936), taking inspiration from the 18th century

Château d'Asnières The château d’Asnières is a stately home at 89 rue du Château in the town of Asnières-sur-Seine in Hauts-de-Seine, France. History Construction With adjoining stables at the edge of its grounds (capable of housing 120 horses and known ...

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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 human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

. The

Preservation Society of Newport County The Preservation Society of Newport County is a private, non-profit organization based in Newport, Rhode Island. It is Rhode Island's largest and most-visited cultural organization. The organization protects the architectural heritage of Newpor ...

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971, and designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

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 History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

, 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 is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. 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 histori ...

, 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. Su ...

. The third floor contains bedrooms for the indoor

servant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

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, 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 a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

and

stables A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

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 an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

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 A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...

had to be installed.

Inspiration

The Elms is considered to be a reinterpretation of the

, an 18th century house in the town of

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

, 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 The Avenue Montaigne () is a street in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Origin of the name The Avenue Montaigne was originally called the Allée des Veuves ("Widows' Alley") because women in mourning gathered ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 Ém ...

. 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 or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

) 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 ; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social clas ...

" (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. Commo ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

); by 1900 his friends included

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

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 Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, 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 possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

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 July 4 to the end of August; Berwind would come out only on weekends, for his

coal-mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

interests kept him in

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

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. Its length is 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemispher ...

, 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 is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

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 car A luxury car is a passenger automobile providing superior comfort levels, features, and equipment. More expensive materials and surface finishes are used, and buyers expect a correspondingly high quality (business), build quality. The term is ...

s. 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, 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 hea ...

before Julia got into the driver's seat.

Preservation

In 1961 when

Julia Berwind Julia A. Berwind (May 27, 1865 - May 16, 1961) was an American socialite, and social welfare activist. She inherited her brother Edward Julius Berwind's $31 million estate including The Elms in Newport, Rhode Island. Biography She was born on Ma ...

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 to hold balls, dinner parties and charity events. Until the First World War, it was also the appr ...

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 Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

ed off the contents of the estate and sold the property to a developer who wanted to tear it down. In 1962, just weeks before its date with the wrecking ball, The Elms was purchased by the

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 is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

to view the coal-fired furnaces and the

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

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 A laundry room or utility room is a room (architecture), room where clothes are washed, and sometimes also drying room, dried. In a modern home, laundry rooms are often equipped with an automatic washing machine and clothes dryer, and often a l ...

steamer trunk A trunk, also known as a travel trunk, is a large cuboid container designed to hold clothes and other personal belongings. They are most commonly used for extended periods away from home, such as for boarding school, or long trips abroad. Trunks ...

storage area, the giant

circuit breaker A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an Electrical network, electrical circuit from damage caused by current in excess of that which the equipment can safely carry (overcurrent). Its basic function is to interr ...

box, ice-makers,

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

, and

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...

below the main floor, and climb the service staircase to the

servants' quarters Servants' quarters, also known as staff's quarters, are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic worker, domestic offices and employee, staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the ea ...

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, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

d roof and a small aluminum platform, with a view of the rear

lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

, 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