Tail of the Dragon

The camera in this phone takes good quality pictures but something about the zoom or field of view or something is too small. I could hardly get any good shots of anything in the house.

Biltmore is "America's Largest House" (trademark.) The house is 120 (?) acres (house only), 250 rooms, 70 bathrooms, indoor bowling alley, indoor pool, Otis elevators (house had cutting edge amenities from day 1, including central heat and its own phone system.) Vanderbilt (grandson of the train baron) eventually bought 100,000 (?) acres of the surrounding land - land denuded of all trees in his time. Frederick Law Olmsted, his landscaper, was one of the first Americans to realize land needed conservation. Vanderbilt's efforts led to the creation of the US Forestry Service. The drive to the house is 3 miles through magnificent (man-made) landscape. By buggy this was 45 minutes. You were supposed to leave your cares behind. The driveway enters the grounds parallel to the house - so you can't see it till you turn the corner. The grounds are similarly laid out with genius. The compound is so big they have fly fishing lessons, Range Rover offroading lessons, etc. The house is full of Renoirs, Singer Sargents, a Ming vase or 3, Albrecht Durer engravings, etc.

1 cantilevered giant spiral staircase
2 where to start? roof is 5 stories up and still is monogramed. House has 50 fireplaces and 16 chimneys, hmm. House has gargoyles but high tech invention downspouts
3 main dining hall, 3 fireplaces
4 giant organ opposite fireplaces
5 two stories floor to ceiling of books, spiral staircase, giant fireplace, door hidden behind 2nd story of fireplace so guests in bedrooms could get a book. Vanderbilt picked every book himself.Read more