The Elms, Newport

The Elms is one of the larger mansions in Newport that is open to the public. It was built in the early 1900s by the Berwind family, which made its fortune by owning coal mines. Unfortunately, much of the original furniture and artwork was sol at auction after the last family member living in the house died during the 1960s. However, the house is still definitely worth touring. Visitors tour it with the aid of prerecorded guided tour tapes that are very informative.

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The Elms boasts one of the most beautiful grounds of all the mansions. The gardens are quite beautiful with large trees, statues, fountains and formal gardens where the owners must have spent much of their time.

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In my many years of coming to Newport, I had never visited the interior of The Elms. Liz loves the house and grounds so off we went to take a tour. The tour is a self guided audio tour. The house is really spectacular with beautiful furnisings and art work. The outside of the house has beautiful statues, fountains and a sprawling lawn.

It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed walking the grounds and exploring.

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Well it certainly would have been if this had been my house.

My favorite part of the tour of the Elms is certainly the huge back yard. If I had grown up in a house like this I would have made my parents keep nine people on staff so I could always play baseball in the huge back yard.

The house was built by Edward Julius Berwind and his wife Herminie. Julius was a coal magnate so money was not an issue. This magnificent house was inspired by the Parisian Chateau d'Asnieres. The house has a magnificent marble staircase, beautiful furniture,huge paintings, Chinese panels and incredible tapestries.

The Elms, along with Marble House and The Breakers is a grand home and was used as a summer residence of it's rich owner, the Philadelphia philanthropist Julis Berwind and his wife. Mr. Berwind made his fortune in coal and summered in The Elms. His home was designed to resemble that of the French chateau d'Asnieres which is located just outside of Paris.

The interior of the home is quite breathtaking with furnishings designed by a Parisian company which compliments Mr. Berwind's many collections of ceramics and Venitian Art.

The grounds of the home are just as striking with gardens, fountains, terraces, sculptures and a large lawn which all make this one of the most beautiful mansions in Newport.

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The second best of the mansions is this 1901 beauty built by Edward Berwind at a cost of $1.5 million. The house is built in a French style complete with a traditional French garden