- Elm Court
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name = Elm Court
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location = Stockbridge StLenox, Massachusetts
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architect =Peabody & Stearns
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added =December 30 ,1985
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refnum =85003184
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governing_body =Elm Court is a
Vanderbilt mansion located on Old Stockbridge Road, straddling the town line between Lenox and Stockbridge,Massachusetts . It is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places [ [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/ma/berkshire/state.html|National Register of Historical Places - MASSACHUSETTS (MA), Berkshire County] ] and is now owned and operated as a hotel by descendants of the original builders.Elm Court was built as the Berkshire summer home of
William Douglas Sloane andEmily Thorn Vanderbilt , a member of the wealthyUnited States Vanderbilt family . Designed by premier architectural firmPeabody and Stearns and gardens and landscape design byFrederick Law Olmsted , Elm Court is the largest American Shingle Style Housein the United States, with 106 rooms. [ [http://www.elmcourt.com/history.html The History of Elm Court Estate ] ]Commercial use, Decline and Restoration
Owners Colonel Helm George Wilde [http://highlawnfarm.homestead.com/hgwilde.html hgwilde ] ] and his wife Marjorie Field Wilde [great-great-granddaughter of William H. Vanderbilt] opened Elm Court in 1948 as an Inn ('Elm Court Club, Inc.) with an accommodation for up to 60 people. Dancing and dinner open to the public Saturday nights made for a popular spot for many years. Knott Hotels Corporation were retained as the operators of the Inn.
The Wildes - who also owned the neighboring 1,300 acre High Lawn manor (designed by
Delano and Aldrich ) and farm [ [http://www.highlawnfarm.com/about.php Highlawn Farm - About Us, a historical sketch ] ] - pursued the Inn concept in order to preserve the estate and provide summer employment for the area's many teachers. The Inn eventually faltered and due to overwhelming operational costs the house shuttered in 1957.While some fine furnishings were removed the house was largely left merely locked up but intact as it had been in the 1950's. Unoccupied, secluded, and only lightly patrolled it fell prey over the years to massive vandalism, outright looting, some arson, and a general derelict state by the end of the 20th century. The massive elm tree on the grounds for which the property was named died in the early 1960's of disease.
Upon the death of George Wilde in 1998 the Elm Court passed to his daughter Lila Wilde Berle [ [http://www.taftfarms.com/article2.htm To The Manor Born ] ] of Stockbridge. Lila's husband, Peter A. A. Berle (1937 - 2007), was a highly respected environmentalist, New York State assemblyman, commissioner of the State Department of Environmental Conservation and president of the National Audubon Society [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/nyregion/05berle.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Peter A. A. Berle, Lawmaker and Conservationist, Dies at 69 - New York Times ] ] She in turn sold the estate in 1999 to her son, Robert Berle, great-great-grandson of the Sloanes, and his wife, Sonya, for just under $1 million. They undertook a major restoration effort, repairing original details and adding new wiring, plumbing, heating, and opened the property as a luxury Inn while portions of the home remained a work in progress with restoration.
In August 2005 the estate - with the manor house, greenhouse, carriage house and cottage - was placed on the market for sale for an asking price of $21,500,000 on 90-acres. [ [http://www.forbes.com/realestate/2005/08/22/vanderbilt-sloan-berkshires-cx_sc_0822how.html Lavish Lenox Estate - Forbes.com ] ] By comparison the highest price for any Berkshire County property sold was recorded January, 2007 for Southmayd Farm for $6.9 million [ [http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_7835333 Stockbridge estate fetches $3.2M - Berkshire Eagle Online ] ]
The property was reduced to an asking price of $17.5 million in July 2006 and a contract was signed for sale to a Florida-based hotel business ('The Kessler Collection') however that deal fell through and was mutually terminated by both parties [ [http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ Home - Berkshire Eagle Online ] ] . Last listed at $14 million, it was taken off the market at the end of 2006 it has remained a private venue for weddings, receptions, and suite accommodations. Robert and Sonya Berle now reside in Charleston, South Carolina.
ubdivision of ancillary structures
In July 2008 a 7.4 acre portion of the original Elm Court estate was placed on the market for $2,575,000 [ [http://stonehouseproperties.com/OldStockbridgeRoad/index.html Gilded Age Compound: Lenox, Mass ] ] . This collective property had been the commercially operated 'Elm Court Florist & Greenhouses' prior to the restoration of the manor house. Offered in this subdivision are Elm Court's Butler’s House, Gardener’s House, Greenhouse Complex, Garden Cottage, Elm Court's Stables, and storage barn. These structures were previously included in the offering for the entire Elm Cort in 2005 for $21.5 million [ [http://www.luxist.com/2005/08/12/elm-court/ Elm Court - Luxist ] ]
External Media: Video
In 2004
Bob Villa 's television show 'Home Again' did a multi-segment visit to Elm Court with the Berle family.[http://www.bobvila.com/BVTV/HomeAgain/Video-1424-02-0.html BVTV - Home Again 'Introducing Elm Court' 3 min 46 sec]
References
* [http://www.elmcourt.com/history.html Elm Court History]
* [http://highlawnfarm.homestead.com/hgwilde.html Helm George Wilde October 8, 1907- June 18, 1998]
* [http://www.taftfarms.com/article2.htm 'To The Manor Born' (Lila Wilde Berle)]
* [http://www.forbes.com/realestate/2005/08/22/vanderbilt-sloan-berkshires-cx_sc_0822how.html Forbes August 22, 2005 'House of the Week: Lavish Lenox Estate']
* [http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_7835333 Berkshire Eagle December 29, 2007 'Stockbridge Estate Fetches $3.2 million]
* [http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ Berkshire Eagle July 20, 2006 '$21M estate deal is ditched']
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/nyregion/05berle.html?_r=1&oref=slogin New York Times November 5, 2007 'Peter A. A. Berle, Lawmaker and Conservationist, Dies at 69 ']
* [http://www.luxist.com/2005/08/12/elm-court/ Luxist August 12, 2005 "Elm Court"]
* [http://stonehouseproperties.com/OldStockbridgeRoad/index.html Stonehouse Properties listing 310 Old Stockbridge Road]ee also
*
Berkshire Cottages
*Vanderbilt houses
*List of National Register of Historic Places entries External links
* [http://www.elmcourt.com/ Elm Court] Official website
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