Elm Court, the Sloane-Vanderbilt estate, built in 1886 on Old Stockbridge Rd. in Lenox, 55,000 sq. ft. on 44 acres, the largest shingle style residence in the country, was sold by its 4th generation owners to developers in Colorado for a little less than ten million dollars. (See Bob Villa video about fixing-up Elm Court.) With that transaction, the Berkshire Cottage era has come to an end. Speaking of rapacious developers, the best of the lot today would be hard-pressed to match the me-my-mine meme that was the defining characteristic of the bluestockings who inspired Mark Twain to coin the “Gilded Age,” whence the Berkshire cottage had its day in the sun.

More here: Berkshire cottages Shadowbrook, Bellefontaine, Belvoir Terrace, et. al.