The Elms
Historic House · Newport, Rhode Island
A Bellevue Avenue house completed in 1901 for the Pennsylvania coal magnate Edward Julius Berwind, designed by Horace Trumbauer on the model of a mid-eighteenth-century French chateau, and set in what are probably the best formal grounds in Newport. It matters more than its architecture because of how it is interpreted: the Preservation Society runs a Servant Life Tour through the back stairs, the basement and the coal tunnel, and the house was built specifically so that forty staff could run it without ever being seen.
367 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840, United States
Open daily in season, generally mid-morning to late afternoon, with reduced winter hours and a decorated Christmas season. ⚠ THIS HOUSE HAS CLOSED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS FROM AROUND 10 AUGUST in some years — confirm current opening dates on newportmansions.org before travelling, because it catches visitors mid-holiday. Adult single-house admission is roughly $25-$35 including an audio tour; combination tickets across several Preservation Society properties are materially better value. ⚠ THE SERVANT LIFE TOUR IS A SEPARATE GUIDED TIMED TICKET at extra cost with limited places and it sells out in summer — book online in advance. Free parking in the house lot.