The Elms Carriage Houses (Horrace Trumbauer, 1911)
In Newport, Rhode Island, it is not just the main buildings that are historic landmarks. In some cases, the “accessory structures” are nearly equally important. The Elms Carriage House, for instance, is a structure of remarkable historical and architectural significance, and stands as a testament to both the opulent lifestyle of America’s Gilded Age and the subsequent efforts to preserve that legacy for future generations. This building was designed in 1910 by the esteemed Philadelphia architectural firm of Horace Trumbauer, a prominent figure known for his work on grand estates and public institutions, and was constructed the following year. While Trumbauer is most celebrated for the main mansion at The Elms, completed in 1901, he was equally deliberate and detail-oriented in his design for the carriage houses. The Elms Carriage House was planned after Edward Julius Berwind, the owner of the Elms, was able to purchase a house and property adjacent to his, several years after the completion of his main house.
Louveciennes Pavilion de Goury (Precedent for the Elms Carriage Houses)
Trumbauer used the Pavilion de goury in Louveciennes France as the model for the two structures connected by a courtyard and a gateway. Originally, the structure served a dual purpose as both a stable and a garage. The Berwind family was an early adopter of the automobile, a key innovation that would eventually render traditional stables obsolete. The building was a marvel of its time, designed to house not only horses and ten carriages but also eight automobiles, complete with a specialized turntable to assist in parking—a solution for the head coachman who struggled to reverse the mechanized vehicles. It also included living quarters for the stable keepers and gardeners, making it a self-contained and highly functional part of the estate’s operation. This shift from horse-drawn carriages to motorcars is a physical embodiment of a broader societal transition that swept through the upper echelons of American society early in the twentieth century.
The Elms Grand Allée (looking toward the Carriage houses)
After the mansion was sold to the Preservation Society of Newport County(PSNC) in 1962, the carriage house underwent a significant transformation. No longer needed for its original purpose, the carriage houses’ utility was reimagined. The Preservation Society recognized its value as a complementary part of The Elms’s public identity and an integral piece of the historic landscape. Its spacious and aesthetically pleasing interior, coupled with its prime location on the estate, made it an ideal candidate for adaptive reuse. In 1996, the Elms, the carriage house, its grounds, and gardens were designated a National Historic Landmark, the highest honor that the Secretary of the Interior can bestow.
The Elms seen from the Grand Allée (Trumbauer, 1901)
In 2016, the Preservation Society of Newport County repurposed the upstairs of one of the two carriage houses to become the Berwind-Stautberg Center for Visiting Scholars, a residence for up to four academic Fellows working and studying for a one or two-year period at the institution. This not only provided them with reasonable cost housing, which is in short supply in Newport, but also gave them the opportunity to live and study in an actual Gilded Age structure. Around that time, they also opened a simple “grab and go” café in the lower-level carriage area to allow guests to the property to eat lunch on the grounds of the house, and thus extend their visits.
Courtyard Facade of East Carriage House (Horrace Trumbauer, 1911)
This past year, the Elms Carriage Houses’ lower level has been greatly renovated to serve as a public-facing restaurant. In its current design, it is an elegant space that hosts a variety of events, including a fine dining kitchen and café for visitors. The space between the two carriage houses has become a lovely outdoor dining space overlooking the Grand Allée at the back of the property. Eating lunch at the building in its current form feels like taking a one-hour vacation to a chateau in the south of France, with no airplane required.
Interior of new Elms Carriage House Restaurant
This modern use demonstrates a successful and sustainable model of historical preservation, allowing the public to interact with the building in a new way while maintaining its architectural integrity. The transition from a private, utilitarian structure to a public, communal space is a powerful symbol of how historical preservation can bridge the past and the present, ensuring that these significant buildings remain a functional, relevant, and a vital part of the Newport community’s life.
Courtyard side of West Elms Carriage house (Horrace Trumbauer, 1911)
If you would like to transform a house or historic building in New England, please reach out to A4 Architecture, and we will be pleased to help you turn your architectural dreams into reality.
Ross Sinclair Cann, AIA, LEED AP, is a historian, educator, author, and founder of A4 Architecture in Newport. He holds architecture and architectural history degrees from Yale, Cambridge, and Columbia Universities and teaches Architectural History in the Circle of Scholars program at Salve Regina University. He is also the Founding Chairman of the Newport Architectural Forum. The Elms is one of the many PSNC houses that A4 Architecture has had the privilege to provide design consultation over the years.