Inside The Elms, the 60,000-square-foot Newport ‘summer cottage’ a coal baron used six weeks a year – and an entire servants’ floor is hidden behind the roofline

The Elms in Newport, Rhode Island, was finished in 1901 as a summer cottage for Edward J. Berwind, who made his fortune in coal and shipping, and his wife Herminie. It's 60,000 square feet on 13.5 acres, and the family lived in it for about six weeks a year. The front rooms are marble and gilt, but the cleverest parts of the house are the ones built to keep the staff out of sight.

Outside

Back of the house. It was designed to be perfectly symmetrical, so there's no servant wing sticking out anywhere.

Symmetrical rear limestone facade of The Elms mansion with landscaped terraces and classical bronze statuary — Source

Main entrance, with three arched glass-and-iron doors between stone columns.

Main entrance portico with three arched glass-and-iron doors flanked by classical stone columns — Source

Rear stone balustrade staircase leading up to arched French doors flanked by classical sculptures — Source

Back gardens, with gravel paths, marble statues and some very old trees.

Sweeping view of manicured back gardens, marble statues, gravel paths, and mature estate trees — Source

The main floor

Entry hall. The marble was imported, and the trim is gilt bronze.

Grand entry hall flanked by mottled marble columns, crystal sconces, and hanging carriage lanterns — Source

A gilt bronze capital on a breche violette marble column. Even the column tops came from Europe.

Carved Corinthian capital in gilt bronze mounted atop an imported breche violette marble column — Source

Grand staircase. The steps are shallow on purpose, easier going in gowns and delicate shoes.

Grand marble staircase with double ascending flights viewed through an arched classical portal doorway — Source

Ballroom, done in white and gold carved paneling modeled on 18th-century French palaces.

Gilded Age ballroom featuring white and gold carved wall paneling, crystal chandelier, and large portrait — Source

Dining room doors. Nearly every big room in the house has a hidden service space right next to it.

Dining room entrance framed by dark wood doors showing Venetian wall paintings and adjacent pantry — Source

Dining room. The paintings are 17th-century Venetian and tell the life of the Roman general Scipio Africanus.

Formal dining room table set beneath monumental Scipio Africanus paintings and marble fireplace mantel — Source

Paris designer Jules Allard furnished the house and sourced the European art.

Coffered dining room ceiling with gilded heraldic rosettes, molded plasterwork, and crystal chandeliers — Source

Breakfast room, lined with black Chinese lacquer panels. A smaller option when the main dining room was too much.

Breakfast room decorated with black lacquer panels, gilded chinoiserie motifs, and carved marble fireplace — Source

The butler's pantry

Butler's pantry, right beside the dining room. The dining room has 20-foot ceilings, and the architect split that same height into two eight-foot pantry floors.

Two-story butler pantry with polished marble table, rich wood cabinetry, and an upper mezzanine opening — Source

Looking up through the oval opening to the second level. It let air through and let staff pass things up and down.

View looking up through oval ceiling aperture into upper mezzanine level of butler pantry — Source

Downstairs prep table viewed through oval mezzanine balustrade opening in two-story butler pantry — Source

Upper level, where the china was kept. The family's solid sterling flatware traveled with them in trunks and went into a hidden safe up here.

Mezzanine level of butler pantry lined with white iron railings and glass-front china cabinets — Source

Dumbwaiter door. The shaft runs through three floors, from the basement kitchen up.

Vertical dumbwaiter service shaft door paneled in dark stained hardwood within butler pantry — Source

A cast-iron bread slicer. I'd like one of these.

Mechanical cast-iron bread slicer positioned atop marble prep counter in butler pantry service area — Source

The guest floor

Top of the grand staircase, under a painted ceiling.

Upper grand staircase landing beneath classical fresco ceiling mural and draped arched window alcoves — Source

Second-floor guest hall, with crimson fabric walls, tapestries and marble pilasters.

Second-floor guest corridor lined with deep crimson fabric wall coverings, antique tapestries, and columns — Source

Guests assumed this skylight opened to the sky. There's a whole floor of servants above it.

Stained-glass leaded skylight set into second-floor hallway ceiling with hanging crystal globe pendant — Source

Primary guest bedroom suite featuring green damask wall coverings, gilded furnishings, and canopy bed — Source

Another guest suite, furnished with European antiques by Jules Allard.

Second-floor bedroom suite featuring carved four-poster bed draped in yellow fabric and fireplace seating — Source

A round sitting room with crimson damask walls and tall windows over the grounds.

Circular sitting room with crimson damask wall covering, ornate gilded parlor table, and chandelier — Source

A narrow servant passage that runs behind the bedroom walls, parallel to the guest hall.

Narrow secret servant passageway running parallel to the primary guest hallway behind interior walls — Source

Back stairs and the kitchen

Looking down the servant staircase. Eight flights, from the basement workrooms to the top-floor quarters, tucked inside the middle of the house.

Overhead view looking straight down the steep servant staircase spiraling through eight interior flights — Source

Upper landing of hidden service staircase featuring white wrought-iron balustrades and natural light window — Source

Basement kitchen. Kitchen, storage and prep space add up to nearly 2,000 square feet, far bigger than the family's dining room.

Spacious basement service kitchen with central preparation table, copper cookware, and milk-glass ceiling globes — Source

Copper saucepans and deep cooking kettles arranged along heavy iron basement stove cooktop — Source

A Singer sewing machine in the lady's maid's room, used to keep the family's clothes in shape.

Antique cast-iron Singer sewing machine on wooden work table inside lady maid alteration room — Source

The hidden top floor

Staff corridor on the third floor. Those glass blocks in the floor are the skylights for the guest hall below.

Third-floor servant dormitory corridor with dark wooden doors and glass block skylight flooring — Source

A servant's bedroom. Each one had a window and fresh air, and the whole floor is 15,000 square feet.

Modest servant bedroom with white metal bed frame, patchwork quilt, vanity, and double-hung window — Source

Outdoor roof deck promenade enclosed between slate-shingled servant rooms and exterior decorative stone cornice — Source

From above you can see it: the staff rooms and a rooftop walkway, all hidden behind the cornice. From the ground it looks like a two-story house.

Aerial drone view of third-floor rooftop servant terrace concealed behind decorative exterior facade balustrade — Source

The view from the roof walk, over the grounds to Narragansett Bay.

Panoramic view from mansion roof overlooking formal estate grounds and Narragansett Bay beyond — Source

The coal tunnel

Sub-basement corridor, brick-vaulted, with rails set into the floor.

Sub-basement mechanical corridor with red brick walls, vaulted arches, and embedded steel cart rails — Source

Coal was dropped down a chute on the street sidewalk, outside the property walls, then pushed through this tunnel in carts. Nobody in the house ever saw a delivery.