Few homes embody the sweep of America’s Gilded Age like Elm Court, the Vanderbilt mansion straddling Stockbridge and Lenox, Massachusetts. Designed in 1885 for Emily Vanderbilt and William D. Sloane, the estate sprawls across 89 acres, with a 55,000-square-foot main house—the largest shingled residence in the United States—framed by Frederick Law Olmsted’s gardens.
Elm Court quickly became more than a family retreat. Guests once included Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart, and Mark Twain, while the 1919 “Elm Court Talks” helped shape the Treaty of Versailles. Daily life was equally grand: tennis tournaments on manicured lawns, silver-served picnics, and concerts in the music room beneath crystal sconces and carved cherubs.
Yet the house has also known abandonment. After decades of reinventions as an inn and wedding venue, Elm Court sat shuttered for 42 years, its Gilded Age echoes fading.
A New Chapter
In December 2022, Linda Law, a real estate developer and investor who formerly owned the Blantyre estate in Lenox, purchased Elm Court with a commitment to reviving its legacy on a world-class scale.
Together with Dr. Richard Peiser, the Michael D. Spear Professor of Real Estate Development at Harvard, and John F. A.V. Cecil, great-grandson of George Vanderbilt, she is preparing to transform the estate into a five-star resort and private residential enclave. The plans call for 78 guest rooms (30 in the Manor and 48 in a newly built Olmsted Lodge) as well as 38 private residences, all designed with an emphasis on health, longevity, and cultural connection.
“While this grand Berkshire estate is suitable for a country Manor Home, we are certain that the next incarnation of this legacy property will be a Five Star luxury resort with 78 guest rooms … as well as 38 private residences. Our team is going to be very deliberate in its thoughtful renovation to restore the vibrancy of this treasured landmark,” says Law.
A House of Firsts
Elm Court has always stood at the intersection of history and innovation. Its grounds, crafted by Olmsted over 13 months and 70 design iterations, remain a showcase of landscape artistry. It also served as an intellectual hub: its architects met at Harvard and helped establish the Graduate School of Design, while its lawns once hosted Harvard-Yale football games.
For Law, this history matters. “The presence of a Vanderbilt estate in the Berkshires offers a profound and lasting contribution to the cultural, historical, and educational fabric of the community. As a symbol of America’s Gilded Age, the estate not only preserves architectural and artistic excellence but also serves as a living classroom, fostering a deeper appreciation for heritage, craftsmanship, and innovation,” she says.
Thoughtful Renovation
Elm Court has passed through many hands, each trying to safeguard its legacy. The Berle family invested $6 million reopening the house as a luxury inn in the late 1990s. Later, Travaasa Experiential Resorts spent more than $20 million securing approvals for a wellness retreat before exiting the hospitality space.
Now, Law and her team intend to build on that groundwork. She stresses the importance of extensive research into Gilded Age architecture and Vanderbilt family history, along with a commitment to Elm Court’s unique identity and its role in the Lenox and Stockbridge communities.
Looking Ahead
If realized, the new Elm Court will restore more than bricks and gardens. It will revive the spirit of an estate that once defined American hospitality at its most ambitious. Imagine Harvard alumni clubs gathering on the very grounds where Roosevelt once hunted, or guests checking into a Manor Room that whispers of Churchill’s billiards matches.
For the Berkshires, the project represents cultural continuity: a blending of old-world elegance with modern wellness, community, and innovation. For Elm Court, it may finally deliver permanence after decades of uncertainty; a future in which the Vanderbilt ideal of leisure and legacy is redefined for the 21st century.
“I am humbled and honored to be a small part of this,” says Law.
Photos courtesy of Elm Court Archives
