Biltmore Estate

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina is a truly amazing place to visit.  The largest private residence in US history is incredible in its grandeur and splendor.  It is one those places that you cannot truly appreciate unless you actually go there.  Even then, it is difficult to imagine what life must have been like for the people who lived and worked there.

Biltmore was conceived of and built by George Vanderbilt, the grandson to Cornelius Vanderbilt.  He dreamed of a country estate that would be self-sufficient and would be patterned after the great castles in Europe.  He enlisted the services of world renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design the house and Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous conservationist to plan the grounds and gardens.  The house was completed in 1895, officially opening on Christmas Eve.  It took 1000 people six years to construct the house and prepare the grounds.    The house has 255 rooms, including 43 bathrooms, 34 guest bedrooms, an indoor pool, several kitchen areas and a winter garden. 

Everything about the house is big.  Pictured at left is an outdoor view of the grand staircase in the center of the house.  The formal banquet hall is 70 feet long by 43 feet wide with a ceiling that is 70 feet high.  That would easily fit our entire house in it, (basement and all) and still have nearly 30ft. x 19ft. left to walk around.   The house was technologically advanced for the time.  It was the first place in Asheville to have electricity.  The house contained an elevator.  It was one of the first private residences to have running hot water available at the faucet.  It had a dumb-waiter.  The house also had a two-lane bowling alley, a rarity for the time.

George Vanderbilt was a very well read man.  He read 7-8 books a month.  The huge library in the house could only hold 10,000 of his 23,000 books.  He was interested in a wide variety of topics including history and agriculture.  He loved to travel, going to Europe, Africa and Asia at least once a year.  George loved to purchase items for the house on his travels.  On the tour you get to see many of his acquisitions including Flemish tapestries that were made in the 1500s, vases from the Ming Dynasty and the game table and chess set used by Napoleon at his final exile on the island of St. Helena.   

At one time, the estate was over 125,000 acres.  It is currently around 8,000 acres.  After George's death, his wife deeded over 87,000 acres of land to the federal government for what is now part of Pisgah National Forest.  Pictured at right is the Conservatory, which helped grow the nearly 3 million plants used for the estate gardens.  Millions more were sold to markets in the region.

Recommendations

• If you ever get the chance, visit the Biltmore Estate.  It is incredible and fascinating.  If you like to tour historical houses and buildings, then you should definitely visit the Biltmore sometime.  
• Plan on spending a whole day at the Biltmore.  There is a lot to see.  The self-guided tour lets you see approximately 60 rooms of the house.  You also get to walk through the Conservatory and around the gardens and visit the winery for a tour and free taste-testing.  
• Special tours, like the rooftop tour are available for added cost.  We suggest doing these on a second day.  The price to upgrade your ticket to multi-days is pretty minimal.  There is plenty to see for your $32 if you are only going to be there for one day. 

Did you know Gifford Pinchot, the first practicing forester in America was hired by Olmsted to manage the lands until 1895.  The Biltmore Forest School was established shortly after that by Dr. Carl Scheneck. The school operated until 1913.

To learn more, visit the Biltmore web site at www.biltmore.com