Find out what it was like to be America’s wealthiest family in the 19th century

This house was built in 1886 in Berkshire, Massachusetts for Emily Vanderbilt, granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt. It was designed by the architectural firm Peabody & Stearns, with 40 acres of parkland designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, best known for his work on New York’s Central Park.

Elm Court is a large burial ground like Bldm, sqm 5,500m² and 106 rooms. To this day, it is the largest home with indel roofs in the United States.

The Ob Sedla or summer cottages, as they were called by the upper class of society, were changed in the middle of the day into a pore or just a house for disposal, because their financing and gossip was not sustainable in the long run.

One of the largest and best estates of the time, the Vanderbilt Berkshires Estate, Two Elm Courts, recently sold for eight million dollars to real estate investor and developer Lind Law. The building is being rebuilt and will be transformed into a luxury resort with 112 rooms and bathrooms of 1,500 square meters² and a 60-seat restaurant. A piece of land of no more than 36 hectares equals two towns, Stockbridge and Lenox in Massachusetts.

Inspired by colonial architecture

Elm Court, with its freestanding roofs, originated from the New England American architecture movement based on American Colonial architecture. The house, which is included in the list of national cultural relics, got its name from the large elm tree that stood at the entrance to the hall. Later, however, illnesses took their toll.

Elm Court became the site of many of the world’s most important business and political meetings, and was also the meeting place for talks in 1919 that led to the creation of the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.

Elm Court operated as a restaurant and luxury hotel until the 1950’s.

In an effort to keep up with the high costs of running a large estate after the original owner of the land, the descendants of Elm Court converted it into a luxury hotel and restaurant after 1940. During the 1950s a major event and festive event was held here. Elm Court finally closed its doors until 1999, when Emily Vanderbilt’s descendants began renovating the property. It was operating for several years at the beginning of the 2000’s as a wedding venue, but then closed again.

Large-scale reconstruction

Major renovations have been completed at Elm Court, including the main living areas and 13 bedrooms. Original details have been preserved, such as the combination of the central carved ceiling in the dining room and the living room floor with parquet laid in the shape of fish bones. There is also a new kitchen with a large kitchen island.

There is a large mahogany dining room with a charming window seat and space for a full dining table for guests. All rooms are spacious enough.

There are several buildings on the property, including a room in the whole house, a gardener’s cottage and several tall greenhouses, one of which is really large, in which tall fruit trees can grow. There is also a housekeeper’s house, a barn and two barns.

Lacquered wood floors complement the marble fireplace and elegantly coffered ceiling.

Together, we have done an enormous amount of research into the architecture and design of the Gilded Age and the history of the Vanderbilt family, and feel an enormous responsibility to pay tribute to its ancient past. It is equally important that we pay maximum attention to the historical significance of Elm Court as its own entity, just as its construction in the communities of Lenox and Stockbridge, according to developer Linda Law.