Author: https://dhelix33.wordpress.com/
My wife and I traveled up to the Blue Ridge Mountains to share in a wedding celebration of dear friends in early Sept. 2013. Beautiful ceremony, good food and dancing fun after the wedding.
We also took a tour of the Biltmore House – it was very large…George Washington Vanderbilt II purchased a tract of 125,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina in 1889. His immediate plan was to begin building a massive 16th-century French chateau-style home as the primary residence for him, his wife and their daughter. It would be the most elaborate residential architectural project in American history, and would take six years and 1,000 men to complete.
The mansion became a place for Vanderbilt to continue his studies in forestry and farming. The estate has remained the largest private home in the United States and has intrigued tourists, who have made it the most visited historic destination in the country.
The main house on the estate, is a Châteauesque-styled mansion constructed between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet, featuring 250 rooms. Still owned by one of Vanderbilt’s descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age, and of significant gardens in the jardin à la française and English Landscape garden styles in the United States.
Standing four stories high and covering more than 4 acres of floor space, the Biltmore House was designed in conjunction with architect Richard Morris Hunt. An astounding 65 fireplaces were erected to heat the 34 bedrooms, 43 baths and 3 kitchens. Over 11 million bricks were placed during the construction. An impressive staircase made of stone contains 102 stairs as it spirals four floors high.
The grounds of the estate are admired for their foliage, flowers and design. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted conceptualized an area of private gardens surrounded by preserved forest. Fountains, ponds, an arboretum and a nursery were added for interest. Vanderbilt spent most of his time living the life of a gentleman farmer, whose goal was to make Biltmore a self-sustaining estate.
I have included a blend of LDR and HDR processed images in the following set.
Just 4 2day –View original 231 more words
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