Elm Court’s Rich History
Bob Vila meets with Bob Berle at Elm Court in the Berkshire Hills. Berle‘s great-great grandparents, Vanderbilt-Sloanes, had the home built in 1886. It expanded through several additions to become the largest shingle-style home in the United States. The original architects, Peabody and Stearns, oversaw all the additions to the home and kept it within its original character while adding some flare, like the Tudor timberwork and towers. The Vanderbilt-Sloanes liked size and when they copied a fountain from the Piazza Mattei in Rome, they increased it by about 20 times the size of the original. The grounds and surrounding gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York. The grounds beautifully transition the home into the surrounding countryside. Elm Court, named after a three hundred-year-old Elm tree in the backyard, has been the site of several historic gatherings including the 1919 Elm Court Talks that led to the Treaty of Versailles.
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