History of The Elms Mansion
Edward Julius Berwind was a Pennsylvania coal magnate who lived in Philadelphia. Mr. Berwind and his wife wanted to build his mansion on Bellevue Ave among the other elite families of the day. The mansion was to be their summer cottage away from city life.
The Elms was built between 1899 and 1901 by Horace Trumbauer who was a Philadelphia architect. It has 48-rooms, and is 60,000 square feet. Allard and Sons decorated the house with period furnishings .
Inside the Mansion
Upon arrival to the mansions, visitors get an audio guide. I loved the audioguide which gave me time exploring the estate at my own pace. I loved the light airiness of the conservatory.
The Elms has a beautiful backyard filled with lush trees and pretty french gardens. Every room of the mansion is decorated from top to bottom. What impresses me most about these mansions in Newport is the level of craftsmanship that went into building them. From the floors to the ceilings you can see works of art that aren’t just the paintings that are hanging.
Also, the mansion offers a Servant’s Life tour which shows visitors where the servants lived in the mansion and how their life was like everyday. I didn’t have time to do the Servant’s Life tour. But, next time I visit I would like to do the tour.
The Hallways, Bedrooms, and Kitchens
The Berwind’s had no children. And, there wasn’t any distant family members who wanted to take over the costly estate. The Elms was going to be destroyed in the 1960’s, but luckily the mansion was purchased by The Preservation Society of Newport County. I can’t believe this beautifully built mansion was close to being destroyed after all the money and craftsmanship it took it to be built.
I didn’t have time to visit all of the houses, even though I bought a 5-house ticket. The top mansions to visit are The Breakers, Marble House, and The Elms.
For more info on The Breakers visit https://ceciliasluxelife.comthe-breakers-mansion-newport-ri/. And for info on Marble House visit: https://ceciliasluxelife.commarble-house-mansion-in-newport-ri/
For info on opening times/tours visit: https://www.newportmansions.org/explore/the-elms
The Elms Mansion in Newport,RI. The Elms Mansion in Newport,RI.
