In the late 1880s, George Washington Vanderbilt, grandson of wealthy industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt, decided to build a grand chateau near the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina.
He purchased 125,000 acres on the outskirts of Asheville and enlisted his friend, architect Richard Morris Hunt, to lay out plans for a 250-room "house."Construction started in 1890, using limestone brought from Indiana on a railroad spur built especially to bring supplies and materials to the site. He employed hundreds of craftsmen.
The house, named Biltmore after "Bildt," the area in Holland where the Vanderbilts came from, and "more," meaning rolling hills, was completed within five years. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed acres of formal and informal gardens.
Today, thanks to some restorative work, the house looks much the way it did when Vanderbilt, his family and his friends filled its halls with laughter.
It has aged beautifully. Many of its furnishings, works of art and antiques are original. It has so many objets d'art and exquisite knickknacks that it goes beyond the boundaries of a house and enters the realm of a museum.
Visitors are still welcome, but you no longer have to be gentry to get in. Some 750,000 people stroll through the mansion and peruse the grounds every year simply by paying the $27.95 entrance fee.
Vanderbilt's grandson, William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, is the home's present owner. He runs the house, a National Historic Landmark (and no longer lived in), and the estate, now a paltry 8,000 acres, as a private enterprise that includes not only self-guided house and garden tours, but restaurants, gift shops and a winery.
The English Walled Garden, Conservatory, Azalea Garden and Bass Pond are within walking distance of the mansion. Roses and perennials bloom from late May through October. From June through early July the native rhododendrons are out. Annuals, such as marigolds, salvia, cannas, impatiens, zinnias and globe amaranth bloom in July and August. September and October are the months to see chrysanthemums.
Among the home's features that were considered technological advances when it was completed 101 years ago: electricity, central heat, a fire alarm system, an electrical call box for servants, two elevators, indoor plumbing (there are 43 bathrooms) and a telephone.
The house had some of Thomas Edison's first light bulbs.
The basement was a predecessor to modern-day spas. It has an indoor swimming pool, a gymnasium and a bowling alley. In the tradition of "Upstairs, Downstairs," it was also the servants' quarters.
The main kitchen, two specialty kitchens, a large laundry, pantries, refrigeration rooms and a place to assemble flower arrangements are in the basement, too.
The mansion tour begins on the first floor in rooms designed for lavish get-togethers of the blue bloods.
When you step inside, you realize the Vanderbilts had the best, and only the best, of everything.
The Winter Garden is a circular space with exotic plants, bamboo furniture and a glass roof, which give it a tropical ambiance.
The men's Billiard Room has a businesslike atmosphere with leather settees and armchairs made in London, oak paneling, an intricately designed plaster ceiling and Oriental rugs.
With a 70-foot-high vaulted ceiling, the Banquet Hall is more like the inside of a cathedral than a dining room. Five Flemish tapestries dating from 1546 to 1553 hang on the walls. The oak dining table accommodates 64 people. Overly large throne chairs were proportioned to fit the overly large table, which was proportioned to fit the overly large room.
The Breakfast Room, a misnomer since it was used for all three meals, has Italian marble wainscoating, tooled-leather wall covering and an elaborate plaster ceiling. Wedgwood tiles surround the fireplace. Chairs have cut-velvet upholstery.
When men dispersed to the Billiard Room, women headed to the Salon for after-dinner conversation or reading. The Salon is a room with a view. The adjoining balcony looks across the forested Biltmore grounds toward the mountains that loom in the hazy distance. The walnut game table and ivory chess set in the Salon once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.
The highlight of the Music Room isn't musical at all. It is a set of porcelain figurines of the 12 Apostles made by the famous German porcelain manufacturer Meissen.
Vanderbilt was an avid reader. He began collecting books at the age of 11 and eventually amassed a collection of 23,000 volumes. Approximately 10,000 of them are stored in the Library, a handsome wood-paneled room with bookcases that span the wall from floor to ceiling. A secret passage between the Library and the guest quarters allowed people choose a book for bedtime reading and walk quietly back to their room. Author Henry James, who was a guest in 1905, complained that his bedroom was at least a half mile from the Library.
But don't let the books distract you from the ceiling, a magnificent mural painted by Venetian Antonio Pellegrini that was originally in the Pisani Palace in Venice.
Then climb the Grand Staircase to the second floor and the Vanderbilt's private quarters and guest rooms. Mr. Vanderbilt's bedroom, with a stunning view of his property, has gold-glazed wall coverings and a 17-century bed from Spain.
The only servant's room on the second floor belonged to Mrs. Vanderbilt's maid. The other single female servants lived in the basement or on the fourth floor.
The second floor Living Hall has portraits of Olmsted and Hunt by John Singer Sargent.
The lavishness doesn't stop there. The third floor has spacious guest suites, each decorated in a different style. Two paintings by French Impressionist Pierre- Auguste Renoir hang in the Chippendale Room.
As we said, the Vanderbilts had the best of everything.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Hours of operation
The Biltmore House is open year-round except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's days. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The entrance gate closes at 5 p.m. Tours are self-guided. Admission is $27.95 for adults and $22 for children 10-15. Children 9 and under are admitted free. The estate is near the intersection of I-26 and I-40. Take Exit 50 or 50B on I-40. For information call 1-800-570-4780.