The Biltmore Estate

One of the porches at the Biltmore

View of the mountains from inside the porch

Front lawn

Section of the roof

Another area of the roof and upper building

I have always wanted to see the Biltmore Estate. Think about it. This was built in the 1880's, in the middle of the mountains. Literally everything had to be brought in. To put it in perspective, the Vanderbilt wealth began with Cornelius Vanderbilt during the Civil War. Cornelius owned a shipping line, and he "loaned" 4 or 5 ships to the government. After the war, he went into railroads.

George Vanderbilt was his son, and he continued the family business. When he decided to build a home in North Carolina, he had to build a rail line first to bring in the supplies he needed. The stone on the outside of the estate is from Indiana. George Vanderbilt brought stone masons and a master gardener from Europe. Yes, this is a flagrant display of wealth, but how many jobs were created for people who otherwise might not have worked? Even today, the Biltmore Estate creates jobs for people as guides, ticket sellers, working in the gardens, driving buses, cooks, chefs, waiters and waitresses, sales in the shops, and on and on.

And it is a historic marvel. Pat found an extra tour entitled "The Architect's  Tour". We bought the ticket online before we left, as we didn't know how crowded it would be. This gave us the opportunity to hear more about the construction as the guide took us up on the roof. We were on a narrow balcony on the outside of the building. Hence the photos of the upper exterior walls. I have close-ups of the gargoyle's!

The entire building is not open for tours, and you are not allowed to take photographs inside the house. Anywhere outside is fine. But it is impossible to describe the massive space of this structure. My house would be the size of one of the hallways. Then again, if you were invited to join the Vanderbilt's, it wasn't for the weekend. Not when it would have taken you quite some time to arrive at the door.

Just look at that view. I loved it.
Linda