The Elms (one of the Newport mansions)

A Bit of History

The Elms was built as a summer cottage for the Berwind family, it was completed in 1901 and cost roughly $1.5 million to build. Edward Berwind was the son of middle-class German immigrants, but by 1900 he was considered “one of the 58 men who ruled America”

The Elms was one of the first homes in the country to have electricity with no backup system, and is one of the first to have an electric ice maker. Edward Berwind worked in New York during the week and spent his weekends in The Elms, leaving his wife to manage the home the rest of the week. His wife passed away in 1922, and Mr. Berwind asked his sister to move in and manage the home while he was away. When Edward Berwind passed away in 1936, The Elms was given to Julia Berwind, his sister and The Elms current hostess.

The Elms Itself

One of my favorite rooms in The Elms was the conservatory, a garden room. This room was meant to bring the outside in, and had a number of glass doors that would be opened to the back lawn. The room had a number of plants that give it an outdoor feel, as well as french inspired statues that give it the ambiance of a royal garden.

The dining room houses the largest collection of Venetian paintings in the world, outside of Venice. Many of the paintings were sold at auction when the family lost it’s wealth, but were found and returned by the preservation society (or replaced with similar paintings). Homes like this one were considered unsightly and old in the early twentieth century, and many were torn down when the money dried up. The preservation society managed to purchase and protect these homes, and preserved this period of American history that would otherwise be lost.

A view of the dining room that houses the largest collection of Venetian paintings outside of Venice

The beautifully carved bust and fireplace in the dining room

Like all mansions, this one had a ballroom. The ballroom was directly in front of the front door, following a marble double staircase that gives one the feeling of entering an art museum.

There was an impressive collection of jade figurines on display, ranging from greens to reds in color. Overall, this mansion appeared to me to be one of the most cultured. It was not overtly pompous or anything, but instead was filled with beautiful art and decorations. I suppose that The Elms are the most “old money” of the mansions.

The Good, The Bad, The Beautiful

The Good

After some discussion, we decided that the best thing about The Elms was the culture that was woven throughout the mansion. From Asian to Venetian artwork to the marble staircase, The Elms oozed with elegance. There was not much overtly lavish decor, and little evidence of it being a home of the gilded age. Of course, we are just lazy explorers, not experts.

The Bad

Because we chose to visit in the winter, we were not able to see the gardens in bloom. We also opted out of taking the servant’s tour, a tour in which we would visit the basement and see how ‘the magic’ happened.

Something that was particularly sad to me was that the majority of the elm trees on the property were killed by Dutch Elm Disease. They were in the process of planting new Elm trees, but the property will not be the same for decades.

The Beautiful

Hands down the most beautiful thing about The Elms for us was the entry. Everything about the experience entering The Elms was magical. From the gorgeous double staircase to the wide hallway, it gave us an experience that will stick with us for the foreseeable future. Hats off to the architect!