The Biltmore Estate The Largest Home in America Essay

The Biltmore Estate is located in Asheville, North Carolina. It is the largest privately owned home in the United States. It was privately owned by George Washington Vanderbilt and his family. The house was designed by Richard Morris Hunt. Frederick Law Olmsted designed the landscape. The Biltmore Estate had a major role in the development of the creative architecture of the era and is well known for being Americas largest home. The Biltmore Estate was built from 1889 and 1895. It cost about $10,000,000 to build. The Biltmore Estate was built on 125,000 acres of land. It had a total of 250 rooms. Included in these rooms is a swimming pool and a bowling alley. In the Biltmore Estate, there are 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65†¦show more content†¦After Hunt died in July 31, 1895, his son continued his work on the Biltmore Estate, even though it was essentially finished. The center of the Biltmore Village was the All Souls Episcopal Cathedral. This was one of Hunt’s favorite, but least known works. Today, full-height portraits of Richard Morris Hunt and Frederick Law Olmsted, the great designers, hang in the Biltmore. The Biltmore Estate had a major role in the development of the creative architecture of the era. The Biltmore had features and materials that were new and of the best quality of the time period. Some of the things in the house that were unique at the time were electric lighting, telephones, and an elevator. The stone used in the construction of the Biltmore was very popular and expensive at the time. It was mined in Indiana. Since the Biltmore included such new amenities, the house was considered a luxury. Since it is one of the largest privately owned house in the U.S., it attracts a lot of tourists. About one million tourist visit this house each year. Before a railroad was built near the city in 1880, Asheville was relatively quiet . After the railroad was built, tourists began visiting the city. Of these tourist was George Washington Vanderbilt. He was visiting the city with his mother to find aid for her chronic malaria. At that time, Asheville was known to have a â€Å"healing environment† due to its altitude and climate. Though Vanderbilt’s original sketchShow MoreRelatedBiltmore944 Words   |  4 PagesThe Biltmore Estate represents the finest architecture, construction, and materials available in the late nineteenth century. The famous house was built by George Vanderbilt, grandson of Corneluis Vanderbilt. George inherited money from Cornelius, a pioneer in the railroad industry (Hudson et al. 113). Cornelius Vanderbilt gained much of his wealth and prominence through hard work in the railroad and shipping industries (Cohen n. pag). BY the time he died, his railroad company he owned was