On Christmas Eve, the country retreat George Vanderbilt has spent so long planning is marvelously decorated and full of festivity. The finished home contains over four acres of floor space, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.
How many acres of land are in the Biltmore Estate?
The original acreage of Biltmore was approximately 125,000 acres and included property later sold to the federal government to create Pisgah National Forest, one of the first national forests east of the Mississippi. 8. Currently, the Blue Ridge Mountain estate covers approximately 8,000 acres.
What is the best day to visit the Biltmore Estate?
- A Gardener’s Place: Open daily 10 AM–4 PM
- Wine Shop: Open daily 10 AM–4 PM
- Traditions: Open daily 10 AM–4 PM
- Creamery: Open daily 11 AM–6 PM, take-out window service only.
- Cedric’s Tavern: Open Mon–Thurs 12 PM–4 PM, Fri – Sun 12 PM–8 PM with outdoor seating only.
How many acres were originally part of the Biltmore Estate?
Originally encompassing 125,000 acres, including a large chunk of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the estate owns “only” 40,000 acres today. George Washington Vanderbilt was one of those very wealthy people (his money came through inheritance) who visited Asheville and never left.
How much are the Biltmore Estate property taxes?
The estate gets an agricultural deferment for the grounds, so it pays Buncombe County property taxes on $79.1 million. In 2017, the Biltmore Co. paid property taxes of $453,795. The Biltmore Co. also is the owner of a 1,161 acre parcel on the south side of the estate that includes riding stables.
How much is the Biltmore Estate Worth?
$300 millionCurrent estimates seem to put that worth today at about $155 million. They estimated that the entire Biltmore Estate, including the hotels, restaurants, conservatory, outbuildings and private residencies, is worth nearly $300 million, which would be closer to $344 million in today's value after adjusting for inflation.Feb 19, 2022
How big is the Biltmore Estate Worth?
Biltmore Appraised Value The appraised value of the 135,000 square foot Biltmore House is about $37 million, according to Buncombe County tax appraisers in 2017. The value of the part of the estate that is open to the public with 2,194 acres, the House, hotels, restaurants, and other buildings exceed $300 million.
Does anyone currently live in the Biltmore House?
Though the family stopped living in the mansion in the 1950s, it is still owned and run as a tourist attraction by the fourth generation of Vanderbilt descendants.May 10, 2019
Do the Vanderbilts still own the Biltmore?
Today, Biltmore remains a family business, with the fourth and fifth generations of George Vanderbilt's descendants involved in day-to-day operations. Along with more than 2,400 employees, they continue Biltmore's mission to preserve this national treasure.
Are the Vanderbilts still rich?
None of the descendants maintain the wealth in the end. Nobody from the Vanderbilt family made it into the wealthiest people in the United States. When 120 members of the Vanderbilt household gathered at Vanderbilt University for their first family reunion in 1973, none of them even had a million fortune left.
How long was the Biltmore house lived in?
Biltmore House, the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 sq ft (16,622.8 m2) of floor space (135,280 square feet of living area).
Did the Vanderbilts go broke?
By 1970, its latest iteration declared bankruptcy; passenger services were taken over by the federal Amtrak in 1971. In April this year, 6th generation Vanderbilt Anderson Cooper told Howard Stern's radio show: "My mom's made clear to me that there's no trust fund."Jul 14, 2014
Are there secret passages in the Biltmore house?
The estate's massive library, apart from being a bibliophile's dream, also houses a secret passageway that leads to the guest bedrooms. A balcony wraps around the second story of the library, and on it are two doors to the hidden hall.Aug 8, 2018
Were there slaves at the Biltmore house?
The old Shiloh neighborhood included approximately a dozen former slaves. It included several homes dotted along what once was the land of their former owner, a church, and a cemetery. When Vanderbilt bought the property, he paid $1,000 to the church.Sep 13, 2012
Does Anderson Cooper own the Biltmore Estate?
Bottom line: "Anderson Cooper does not have any ownership in, or get any special privileges at, Biltmore Estate," Sims said, "although we would love to have him visit."Aug 17, 2005
How many rooms are in the Biltmore Estate?
250-roomBiltmore House was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt and is America's Largest Home® spanning 175,000 square feet, which is more than four acres of floor space. The 250-room French Renaissance chateau includes 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.Sep 18, 2018
Who owns the 2022 Biltmore?
Today, the company is still run by descendants of George Vanderbilt; the president and CEO is currently Bill Cecil Jr. The company employs over 2,400 people who maintain the 8,000 acres of the Biltmore Estate, hotel, winery, restaurants and shops.
When was Biltmore House built?
Construction began in 1889 and Biltmore House was first opened to friends and family on Christmas Eve, 1895. Biltmore House was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt and is America’s Largest Home® spanning 175,000 square feet, which is more than four acres of floor space.
Where is the Biltmore?
Nestled in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, Biltmore is the largest privately owned home in the United States, and was the vision of George Vanderbilt.
Who was George Vanderbilt married to?
George Vanderbilt married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser in Paris in 1898. Their only child, Cornelia Vanderbilt, was born in the Louis XV Room at Biltmore in 1900. Biltmore was a pioneer in sustainable land use practices in 1895 and has long operated its farm and field-to-table program.
How big is Biltmore?
The Biltmore is called the “grandest private home in America,” but even that doesn’t do it justice. At 178,926 square feet, the Gilded Age estate dwarfs the White House by a factor of three and puts Hearst Castle (at 70,000 square feet) to shame. It’s about the same size as a Walmart Supercenter, but it’s a whole lot more impressive.
When was Biltmore built?
Built between 1889 and 1895 and designed by architect Richard Morris and landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted, the estate is a picture of opulence but also a technological marvel, boasting the first ever bowling alley in a private home, a washing machine and an electrically lit indoor swimming pool. Biltmore opened its doors to visitors in the ...
How much liquid can a Biltmore fridge hold?
Biltmore fridges used ammonia gas and could hold 500 pounds of meats and vegetables and 50 gallons of liquid at 40 degrees, the approximate temperature of modern fridges.
Why did Vanderbilt open the Biltmore?
On May 15, 1930, Edith Vanderbilt opened the Biltmore home to the public to offset the costs of running the estate (George died of appendicitis in 1914). At the time, yearly taxes were $50,000, around $800,000 today. The first admission was $2 per adult and $1 per child under 12.
How many people visit Biltmore every year?
A million visitors take the voyage to the Biltmore every year to see the gardens, wander the home, stay in the hotels, eat in its many restaurants or for weddings and corporate events. Biltmore’s winery is the most visited winery in the United States.
Where did the name Biltmore come from?
George Vanderbilt came up with the name Biltmore from the Dutch land of his ancestors. One of George’s earliest ancestors to come to America was Jan Aartsen van der Bilt — from Bildt in Holland. George liked the sound of Bilt and tried various incarnations — including “Bilton” — before landing on Biltmore. Enlarge Image.
How much did it cost to build the Vanderbilt house?
A special three-mile railroad spur, which cost George Vanderbilt $80,000 to create (over $2 million today), ferried men and materials to work. Construction on the house required 1,000 workers and 60 stonemasons. A woodworking factory and a brick kiln, which produced 32,000 bricks a day, were also built on site.
Overview
Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 sq ft (16,622.8 m ) of floor space (135,280 square feet of living area). …
History
In the 1880s, at the height of the Gilded Age, George Washington Vanderbilt II began to make regular visits with his mother, Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt, to the Asheville area. He loved the scenery and climate so much that he decided to build a summer house in the area, which he called his "little mountain escape". His older brothers and sisters had built luxurious summer houses in places suc…
Architecture
Vanderbilt commissioned prominent New York architect Richard Morris Hunt, who had previously designed houses for various Vanderbilt family members, to design the house in the Châteauesque style. Hunt used French Renaissance châteaux as inspiration. Vanderbilt and Hunt had visited several in early 1889, including Château de Blois, Chenonceau and Chambord in France and Waddesdon Manor in England. These estates shared steeply pitched roofs, turrets, and sculptural …
Interiors
Biltmore has four acres of floor space and 250 rooms in the house, including 35 bedrooms for family and guests, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, 3 kitchens and 19th-century novelties such as an electric Otis elevator, forced-air heating, centrally controlled clocks, fire alarms, and a call bell system. The principal rooms of the house are located on the ground floor. To the right of the marble…
Park and landscape
Vanderbilt envisioned a park-like setting for his home and employed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design the grounds. Olmsted was not impressed with the condition of the 125,000 acres (195 sq mi; 510 km ) and advised having a park surround the house, establishing farms along the river, and replanting the rest as a commercial timber forest, a plan to which Vanderbilt agreed. Gifford Pinchot and later Carl A. Schenck were hired to manage the forests, with Schenck …
Estate
Vanderbilt's idea was to replicate the working estates of Europe. He asked Richard Morris Hunt and Frederick Law Olmsted to design a village with architecturally compatible buildings and picturesque landscaping. He intended it to be a source of income through rental cottages, a place to help carry out philanthropic programs, and an easy point of access between the estate and t…
In popular culture
The estate has been used on numerous occasions as a filming location for film and television. Notable uses include for The Swan (1956), Being There (1979), Mr. Destiny (1990), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Richie Rich (1994), My Fellow Americans (1996), Patch Adams (1998), Hannibal (2001) and The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012).
Notable people who have been on the Biltmore Estate include: Bill and Melinda Gates, Jimmy Ca…
See also
• List of Gilded Age mansions
• List of largest houses in the United States
• Richard Morris Hunt
• Frederick Law Olmsted
10 Fast Facts About Biltmore
- George Vanderbilt was born in 1862 in Staten Island, New York. He was the grandson of famed industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt.
- After visiting Asheville in 1888, George Vanderbilt began the process of building his country home. Construction began in 1889 and Biltmore Housewas first opened to friends and family on Christmas...
- George Vanderbilt was born in 1862 in Staten Island, New York. He was the grandson of famed industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt.
- After visiting Asheville in 1888, George Vanderbilt began the process of building his country home. Construction began in 1889 and Biltmore Housewas first opened to friends and family on Christmas...
- Biltmore House was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt and is America’s Largest Home® spanning 175,000 square feet, which is more than four acres of floor space. The 250-room French Renaissan...
- Adjacent to Biltmore House are 75 acres of formal and informal gardens designed by renowned American landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.
A Mission of Preservation
- Today, Biltmore is still family owned and operated under George Vanderbilt’s mission of preservation through self-sufficiency – a philosophy embraced before the first stone was ever placed. Over the years, Biltmore has grown to include Antler Hill Village & Winery, which includes Antler Hill Farm; overnight accommodations, including The Inn on Biltmore Estate–our Forbes F…
Ready to Learn More?
- Since 1895, Biltmore has welcomed guests from all over the world to experience the splendor of George Vanderbilt’s visionary estate. No matter the season, an 8,000-acre oasis awaits you. From historic gardens and grounds to outdoor adventure, behind-the-scenes tours, dining, shopping, and wine tastings, there is something for everyone. Learn more a...