The Elms Newport Mansion

The Elms Newport Mansion, a French chateau inspired Gilded Age estate in Rhode Island, features historic home design, formal gardens, and HBO filming ties. This type of historic home design is what happens when you have too much money in 1901 and a taste for France. Architect Horace Trumbauer modeled the house after a French château (Château d’Asnières), then wrapped it in Indiana limestone so it would basically last forever. The gardens and sculptures finish the look with enough symmetry to make a geometry happy. Today, the house is more than a relic—it’s also a star. HBO films scenes of The Gilded Age here, which makes sense, because the estate is stunning. Before we dive into the interiors, let’s pause for some exterior eye candy.

The Great Tree | Rear Lawn

Forget the house—there’s a tree here that could star in its own documentary. It’s a weeping European beech, and it doesn’t just stand tall; it throws branches down like ropes, digs them into the ground, and sprouts new trunks. Over a century later, the thing looks like it’s staging a coup against the lawn. Roots twist everywhere, limbs fold back into the earth, and visitors stop to gawk like it’s some kind of botanical sideshow. Likely planted when the gardens were laid out (1907-1914), this tree is just as old as the house but way more dramatic. For scale, that’s me in my red dress.

Formal Gardens & Fountains

The designers went full Frenc at the formal gardens. Symmetry everywhere. Terraces, clipped hedges, straight axes of sight lines—Versailles without the airfare. The first fountain is marble and bronze, with tortoises and birds arranged across marble basins. Water jets add sound and movement, marking the central axis.

The sunken garden lies beyond. Two marble pavilions face each other like architectural twins. A wall ties them together, and another fountain reinforces symmetry. Boxwoods form precise edges, and seasonal flowers bring texture and color.

Sculptures provide detail. One marble fountain shows cherubs dancing in a circle. Another statue stands beneath a wooden trellis crowned with a sphere. Sculpted spheres and clipped hedges repeat the form, creating rhythm across the garden. Stone walls enclose the space and maintain its order. Just lovely.

Rear Façade & Terraces

The back of the house is a masterclass in architecture. Limestone walls, French doors, endless windows—all staring at the garden like a mirror. Terraces spill down into the lawn, urns perch on balustrades, and sculptures of humans and animals stand around like permanent party guests. The whole setup is based on symmetry. Every placement lines up with something else, because nothing here was allowed to just be casual. The beech tree looms in the background, photobombing the view.

The Front Entry

Now for the grand hello. The front façade has three big arches, framed by Corinthian columns, because subtlety was not on the budget. Above, carved stone panels soften the bulk with floral details. French doors sit in the center, crowned by a transom, while a massive bronze lanterns reach off the walls, like jewelry. On guard duty, sphinx statues, mixing Egypt with France in Rhode Island is an interesting perespective. Topiaries line the steps, trimmed within an inch of their lives. The message is clear: if you make it to this door, you’d better be impressed.

Legacy of The Elms Newport Mansion

The Elms Newport mansion is a crash course in Gilded Age flexing. Limestone, fountains, trellised statues, sphinxes—it’s all here, working overtime to shout “grandeur.” The weeping beech tree adds nature’s drama, while the symmetry keeps everything in check. Over a century later, the estate still pulls it off. And thanks to HBO’s The Gilded Age, the mansion doesn’t just belong to history—it also belongs on screen. My obsession with historic home design stretches from a Back Bay to a Bristol, Rhode Island to The Elms in Newport—different looks, all classic New England.