Visit to Biltmore - Asheville, NC. The Largest Private Home in America.
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The thought that just occurred to me is, how much tobacco residue have they had to clean off all that ornate decoration?
Due to social norms, smoking would have more or less been limited to a few dedicated rooms. The main floor plan is so vast and open, it would be difficult to imagine a family of three consuming the amount of tobacco needed to fill the place, assuming it was done outside the smoking quarters. Far more effort is spent on routine cleaning from natural elements, ie dust, moisture etc. Soot from fireplaces alone would likely have contributed more to contamination than smoking. In any case, any significant accumulations tobacco residue would have been addressed many decades ago.
Biltmore employs a perpetual army of conservation/restoration specialists from all over the world. The owner said that 90% of the revenue from ticket sales (starting at $45.00 a head with 1.4M visitors annually) go right back into maintenance alone.
Mystic
We're all born mad
It is 178,926 SQFT.
Context:
Hearst Castle (CA) is 68,500 SQFT.
Bill Gate's House (WA) is 66,000 SQFT.
The Breakers (RI) is 62,482 SQFT.
and...
The White House (DC) is 55,000 SQFT.
The White House (DC) is
Actual living area is estimated to be 135,280 sq ft excluding utility/service areas; servants bedrooms (66), basement floors etc.
The bowling alley is the oldest in the US, installed by Brunswick.
Biltmore's indoor swimming pool is the first with underwater lighting. Because there were no chemicals for water treatment, the pool had to be emptied/refilled each time it was used. The swimming pool was prone to leaking into the subbasement on the floor below so it was rarely used.
Biltmore's indoor swimming pool is the first with underwater lighting. Because there were no chemicals for water treatment, the pool had to be emptied/refilled each time it was used. The swimming pool was prone to leaking into the subbasement on the floor below so it was rarely used.
Over 100 photos I had taken during the Jan '23 visit are in the FB links posted above, including of the greenhouse and grounds. The garden display wasn't as impressive as it was back in '92 which was a bit disappointing. Back then, the main entrance drive was a model of horticultural perfection as well but possibly much of it was damaged during the flood of 2024 and not replanted.
The saddest change of all is the installation of a structural reinforcement on the grand staircase from the bottom to halfway between the second and third floor. A massive and massively hideous steel tube contraption painted high gloss black. Supposedly, all because of one small crack that appeared in one of the treads. It wasn't there in 2023.
Good for your step count, visiting a place like this.
