TN-NC Adventure--Day 6
/I have 119 photos on my computer from our day at the Biltmore in North Carolina. I won’t attempt to share all of those, but even so I’m going to break this into two posts.
I had purchased tickets a couple of months ago to reserve our space at the Biltmore estate. Tickets get you into the 8000 acre property and you reserve a specific time for a tour of the house.
You have to have a ticket to get through the main gate. You’re still quite a distance from the house and other sites. We parked and then caught the shuttle to get to the house.
George Vanderbilt started purchasing land near Asheville soon after a visit in 1888. He built the house as a family home as well as a retreat for his guests. The house was officially opened for guests in 1895. George married Edith in 1898 and they had a daughter in 1900.
The house took six years to build and has 250 rooms including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.
Before our tour time we had an hour to explore the gardens. The gardens were designed by the landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York and included several themed formal gardens. This is part of the Italian Garden and currently includes water lilies as a tribute to Monet’s water lily series of paintings.
The Conservatory, below the formal gardens, houses tropical plants including exotic orchids, ferns, and palms.
This one is called a chenille plant.
When we entered the house we were given audio devices. In some of the photos it looks as though a lot of people are on their phones , but its because they are listening to the recording throughout the self-guided tour. This is the glass-roofed Winter Garden just after the Entrance Hall.
The Banquet Hall has a seven-story-high ceiling and the Flemish tapestries on the wall are from the 1500’s. I don’t remember all the details but am referring to the guide we were given. I counted the chairs in my photos and it looks as though this table seats 26. This is where dinner was served and there was another room for breakfast and lunch. I found myself taking additional photos of the ceilings because in many of the rooms they were as elaborate as the walls and furniture.
The music room was not finished in George Vanderbilt’s lifetime and wasn’t completed until 1976. During World War II paintings from the National Gallery of Art were secretly stored here for safekeeping.
Detail of the ceiling in the Music Room.
Doors open to the Loggia where there is a view of the estate and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. Notice the downspout and the column in this photo and look at the next photos for the detail.
Everywhere we looked in this house (and outside) there was more to see.
Detail at the top of the column next to the door.
The Tapestry Gallery is adjacent to the Loggia and there are French doors that would have been opened for guests. My booklet says that this room is 90 feet long and the Flemish tapestries are “part of a 1530s set known as The Triumph of the Seven Virtues; these three tapestries represent Charity, Faith, and Prudence.”
This is one of those tapestries. I am amazed at the detail.
Between the three tapestries the wall is painted in a tapestry-like design.
This is a corner of the library. There is a railing half way up because there is a walkway and another level of books up there. My booklet says that this is half of George Vanderbilt’s 22,000 volume collection.
Mr. Vanderbilt’s Bedroom.
The Oak Sitting Room is between the family’s bedrooms. I was interested in the chairs in the foreground. Notice the flaps that are now up but could be lowered to function as end tables (old-style drink-holders?). Also notice the incredible detail in woodwork. This was throughout the main part of the house.
Mrs. Vanderbilt’s bedroom
I need to finish this adventure but I may return to my Vanderbilt house photos another time. I didn’t even share any of the rest of the estate.
