It has been a very long time since we were last in Biltmore. We went with my folks in 2006 with my parents (before the Girl was born)
Biltmore
and again in 2007 when Babcia was here from Poland.
Biltmore II
Of course, the Girl was too young to remember anything and the Boy wasn’t even a thought when we last went there, so today being a teacher workday that I took as a personal day, we took the kids for a day at the largest house in America.
The house has looked like this for over a hundred years now,
but there was one significant change this time around, though. It was nothing in the gardens: they looked just like they did 14 years ago.
(Click on images for larger view, as always.)
The exterior really wasn’t any different — the limestone facade is just stunning and overwhelming.
What was different was that photos are now allowed on the interior. I guess in the 14 years since we last went there, the administrators realized with the advent of the smartphone that keeping people from taking photos was going to be impossible. Plus, why not get the free publicity that comes with social media posts.
As we strolled through the house, I kept thinking how “house” is such a poor word for what this is. It’s more like a palace. I believe it’s officially called a chateau. It’s hard to imagine anyone building a structure like that for himself. Vanderbilt was still single when he began building the 170,000 square-foot home, and he and his wife only had the one daughter Cornelia. They took up three of the thirty-five bedrooms. What’s the point of something like that other than to do it?
It’s all so foreign and almost obscene to modern sensibilities. It would take 65 of our homes to equal the area of that house. What does anyone need with that? Nothing — that’s the honest answer. But why would they want something like that?
Yet it’s a piece of art in and of itself.
Since we got year passes, we’re planning on heading back in December for the Christmas decorations (which are already going up).