2007-34 Biltmore Estate, North Carolina
Hello All,
On Sunday we headed to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. It was a good thing we decided to make the trip then, as it has been raining ever since. However, no one around here is complaining about the rain because of the severe drought in the South.
The Biltmore Estate is a good example of the extremely wealthy doing things to excess. The 8,000-acre estate is absolutely beautiful even though it has been reduced down from the original 17,000 acres. It has an inn, forests, lakes, ponds, a waterfall, a river, creeks, farmland, vineyard, winery, gardens, greenhouses, courtyard, stables, conservatory, restaurants, gift shops, horseback riding, and a deer park, in addition to the main house. There are walking and biking trails throughout the estate.
George W. Vanderbilt (1862-1914) began building the house in 1889 when he was a 27-year old bachelor. He was the grandson of “The Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt, and a member of a family with a vast fortune in shipping and railroads. On Christmas Eve 1895 he officially opened the house.
On Sunday we headed to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. It was a good thing we decided to make the trip then, as it has been raining ever since. However, no one around here is complaining about the rain because of the severe drought in the South.
The Biltmore Estate is a good example of the extremely wealthy doing things to excess. The 8,000-acre estate is absolutely beautiful even though it has been reduced down from the original 17,000 acres. It has an inn, forests, lakes, ponds, a waterfall, a river, creeks, farmland, vineyard, winery, gardens, greenhouses, courtyard, stables, conservatory, restaurants, gift shops, horseback riding, and a deer park, in addition to the main house. There are walking and biking trails throughout the estate.
George W. Vanderbilt (1862-1914) began building the house in 1889 when he was a 27-year old bachelor. He was the grandson of “The Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt, and a member of a family with a vast fortune in shipping and railroads. On Christmas Eve 1895 he officially opened the house.
It took us over an hour and a
half to do a self guided tour of the house. The treasures in the house are
amazing. Life-size portraits, scenic artwork, beautiful floor to ceiling
tapestries, sculptures, flowers, chandeliers, and candle sconces adorn the
rooms. To describe it all would require a book. You are not allowed to take
photos or use cell phones, and there are lots of folks watching to make sure
you don‘t.
To give you an idea of the size of the house, it has an entrance hall, winter garden, banquet hall, breakfast room, salon, music room, tapestry gallery, library with more than 23,000 books, grand staircase with a four-story iron chandelier weighing 1,700 pounds, 36 lavish bedrooms for family and guests (101 including servant’s quarters), 65 fireplaces, and 43 bathrooms (remember this was built when most households didn’t have a bathroom). It boasts a vegetable pantry, walk-in refrigerators, housekeeper’s pantry, canning pantry, pastry kitchen, rotisserie kitchen, main kitchen, kitchen pantry, servants dining room, servants sitting room, small pantry, organ motor room, brown laundry, laundresses toilet, main laundry, drying room, smoking room, and gun room.
To give you an idea of the size of the house, it has an entrance hall, winter garden, banquet hall, breakfast room, salon, music room, tapestry gallery, library with more than 23,000 books, grand staircase with a four-story iron chandelier weighing 1,700 pounds, 36 lavish bedrooms for family and guests (101 including servant’s quarters), 65 fireplaces, and 43 bathrooms (remember this was built when most households didn’t have a bathroom). It boasts a vegetable pantry, walk-in refrigerators, housekeeper’s pantry, canning pantry, pastry kitchen, rotisserie kitchen, main kitchen, kitchen pantry, servants dining room, servants sitting room, small pantry, organ motor room, brown laundry, laundresses toilet, main laundry, drying room, smoking room, and gun room.
Mr. Vanderbilt must have had a
passion for entertainment and exercise, so he included a bowling alley,
dressing rooms, indoor swimming pool (measuring 53’ x 27’ x 8 ½’, the pool
boasts original underwater lighting), billiard room, card room, table tennis
room, and a gymnasium filled with exercise equipment. The house is over 175,000
square feet in four stories. That’s four acres!!!
It is very impressive. However, start saving your pennies if you decide to visit. Admission this spring was $42 per person. It is now $45, plus $8 if you rent an audio tour headset, and another $13 if you want to buy a guide book. Food and drink within the estate are high and if you want to pick up some wine--well, you do the math. We enjoyed our visit; it is a lovely place, but we probably saw it for our last time.
On Tuesday, the 30th, we will depart Tennessee for our old stomping grounds in Florida. We’ve come “full circle” as they say, arriving here on March 2nd in the chilly weather, watching the leaves emerge from their dormancy, and struggling through an unusually hot humid summer. We now prepare to leave as the weather cools off and the leaves drop in preparation for winter.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
It is very impressive. However, start saving your pennies if you decide to visit. Admission this spring was $42 per person. It is now $45, plus $8 if you rent an audio tour headset, and another $13 if you want to buy a guide book. Food and drink within the estate are high and if you want to pick up some wine--well, you do the math. We enjoyed our visit; it is a lovely place, but we probably saw it for our last time.
On Tuesday, the 30th, we will depart Tennessee for our old stomping grounds in Florida. We’ve come “full circle” as they say, arriving here on March 2nd in the chilly weather, watching the leaves emerge from their dormancy, and struggling through an unusually hot humid summer. We now prepare to leave as the weather cools off and the leaves drop in preparation for winter.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns