The Biltmore:
An American Icon
When George Washington Vanderbilt first visited Asheville, North Carolina, in 1888, he was immediately captivated by the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Not long after, George began buying land in the area with the hopes of building a house as iconic as his family name.
George’s first hire was Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect best known for designing New York City’s Central Park. The property that would become the Biltmore Estate was overtaxed and in need of care, so Olmsted set to work creating a plan to bring back the natural beauty of the surrounding land.
Another Vanderbilt hire was architect Richard Morris Hunt, who designed the Biltmore House. George and Richard gathered inspiration from historical manor homes throughout the English and French countrysides.
They decided to create a large-scale home that was equal to the larger-than-life mountains surrounding the estate. Construction began in 1890, and by Christmas of 1895, Biltmore House welcomed its first guests.
The Biltmore House was constructed in the style of French medieval or Renaissance castles, complete with steep roofs, fancy window designs, and gargoyles
The inside of the house featured a spiraling staircase, a large banquet hall, and a two-story library. The interior of the home was filled with a variety of historical artifacts, medieval-style furniture, and even an oil-painted ceiling from a palazzo in Venice!
Of the 125,000 acres purchased by George Vanderbilt, Frederick Law Olmsted only designed 75 acres. Formal gardens were built near the home; however, the farther away from the house you went, the wilder the terrain became. The road leading to the estate was lined with trees so visitors would be treated to a dramatic reveal of the house after traveling three miles through beautiful landscape.
Olmsted strongly believed in reforesting the surrounding land and convinced George that bringing back the natural forest of the area would be the best use of the land. Eventually, the estate’s forester, Carl Schenck, established the Biltmore Forest School on-site to help train the next generation in the science of forestry.
Today, the iconic Biltmore Estate is open to the public and offers an incredible glimpse into the legacy of the Gilded Age.