All the mansions of the late 19th and early 20th century in the Rhode Island coasts´s famed outpost of wealth the are over-the-top grand, for the self-made millionaires who built them wanted to look as if they came from old money, and to achieve that, they were willing to spend a lot of new money. Touring these summer “cottages” today, you gawk at expansive gardens, expensive European art and furniture, sumptuous ballrooms and guest rooms, and enough rococo molding to impress any king named Louis. But beyond the ubiquitous gilt of the Gilded Age, each mansion is unique, as is each tour. Exhibit A: the "Rooftop and Behind the Scenes Tour" at The Elms. Think of this tour as the American Up the Down Staircase.

Edward J. Berwind, a coal magnate from Philadelphia, built The Elms in 1901. Modeled after Paris's Chateau d'Asnieres, replete with about ten acres of formal French gardens, The Elms is so grand that, as you approach the main building, you are astonished to learn that the palace-like edifice on your right is merely the carriage house. Granted, the 64,000-square-foot main building only has 48 rooms (The Breakers has 70), but these are pretty darned swell rooms. And 40 servants were required to, well, service them and their nouveau riche occupants.

Read more in his Tripatini contributor Ed Wetschler´s post A Tour of the Hidden Servants´Quarters at The Elms in Newport, Rhode Island."