Photos show the lavish interiors of The Elms, a Rhode Island mansion built for a coal millionaire in the Gilded Age
September 2, 20240
The Elms.
Gavin Ashworth — The Preservation Society of Newport County
Edward Berwind founded the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company that powered the New York City subways, Vanderbilt railroads, and US Navy ships.
He and Sarah Berwind did not have any children. When she died in 1922, she left her husband her jewelry collection worth $376,944, which would be valued at around $6.9 million today. In her will, she wrote that she didn’t leave her husband any money because “he does not need it,” The New York Times reported in 1922.
After his wife’s death, Edward Berwind enlisted his sister, Julia Berwind, to act as the hostess at his homes in Newport and New York City. He died in 1936, and Julia Berwind spent summers at The Elms until her death in 1961.
The following year, the Preservation Society of Newport County purchased The Elms and continues to maintain the property as a museum. One adult ticket costs $25 and can be purchased through the Preservation Society’s official website.
The architect, Horace Trumbauer, modeled the design after Château d’Asnières, an 18th-century French château.
The foyer of The Elms.
George Gray — The Preservation Society of Newport County
After Julia Berwind’s death, all of the artwork and furniture at The Elms was auctioned off in preparation for its demolition. The Preservation Society of Newport County saved the mansion from being turned into a parking lot and bought back many of its original furnishings.
Edward Berwind’s Renaissance-style library featured dark woods and dark red furnishings.
Statues and a fountain in the Conservatory.
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Julia Berwind often played Mahjong or bridge in the Conservatory.
The Conservatory also featured original statues from Chateau D’Asnieres, the French inspiration for The Elms.
The Drawing Room.
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In Gilded Age mansions, the Drawing Room gets its name from the practice of guests withdrawing there after dinner.
At The Elms, the Drawing Room was usually occupied by Sarah Berwind and her female guests, while Edward Berwind and his male guests retreated to the Library.
Interior designer Jules Allard created custom Louis XV-style furniture for The Elms’ Drawing Room.
“Dawn” by Jacob de Wit.
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Depicting dawn as a woman wearing pink and Flora, the Roman goddess of spring, as a woman in a red dress holding flowers, the painting is one of the few art pieces that wasn’t sold off in 1962 because it was glued to the ceiling.
The Berwinds hosted a lavish housewarming party for 400 guests in their ballroom in 1901.
Another view of the Ballroom.
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Enfilade, or “all in a row,” was a French architectural style where rooms led into one another in a one-way procession that usually ended with an audience with the king.
At The Elms, Trumbauer mimicked this layout with rows of doorways that lined up, allowing guests to see from one end of the house to the other. However, he also added more doors that led out into the entrance hall and gardens for optimal entertaining, according to the audio tour.
The Berwinds ate meals in the Dining Room, where staff served anywhere between 12 and 16 courses.
Paintings in the Dining Room.
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“The Venetian painting cycle at The Elms is a truly remarkable thing, that if an art museum owned it, they would dedicate an entire gallery to it,” Laurie Ossman, the director of museum affairs at the Preservation Society, said in the audio tour.
In the Breakfast Room, panels from 18th-century
China covered the walls.
The Butler’s Pantry.
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A dumbwaiter transported food up from the basement kitchen.
The tour continued upstairs in the Stair Hall, which featured marble columns and a marble table.
Julia Berwind’s bedroom.
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When she wasn’t at The Elms for the summer, she lived at the Savoy Hotel in New York City. Located on Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, the hotel was torn down in 1965.
Sarah Herminie Berwind’s bedroom appears as Gladys Russell’s bedroom in HBO’s “The Gilded Age.”
Edward Julius Berwind’s bedroom.
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A placard posted in the room said that wall coverings from the 1980s had been removed and would be replaced with recreations of the original textile in the spring of 2025.
The bathrooms at The Elms were the height of luxury in the Gilded Age.
A light fixture in Edward Julius Berwind’s bathroom.
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In Edward Julius Berwind’s bathroom, light fixtures shaped like iris petals lit up the mirror.
Edward Julius Berwind’s bathroom also included a call button that would summon his personal valet.
The Sitting Room.
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In the Sitting Room, a footman was tasked with adjusting the shades as the sun moved throughout the day.
The skylight in the upstairs hallway was actually a glass floor in the staff quarters that let in light from another skylight.
The second floor of the Butler’s Pantry.
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The same dumbwaiter that brought plates of food up from the basement also reached the second level of the Butler’s Pantry, where the fine china was stored.
The audio tour pointed out the wisteria trees planted to cover the service entrance at The Elms.
The Main Kitchen.
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The stove was powered by Berwind coal, as were the home’s three furnaces.
Cold dishes were prepared in a separate cold kitchen away from the sweltering heat of the main kitchen’s large coal stove.
The sunken garden at The Elms.
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The grounds feature almost 40 species of trees and a sunken garden designed by French landscape architect Jacques Gréber, according to the Preservation Society of Newport County.
While The Elms didn’t have ocean views like other Newport mansions, it did feature incredible works of art and architecture.
The Elms.
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In the audio tour, Ossman said that The Elms is “many people’s favorite house” to visit in Newport.
“I think that The Elms has a balance of grandeur and restraint that makes it very accessible to people,” she said.
