Tuesday, November 14, 2017

CHRISTMAS AT THE BILTMORE ESTATE

We planned to go to Ashville, NC to the Biltmore Estate while we were in Sevierville, TN, we just weren't sure which day we would go. When I discovered that Dollywood (Theme Park) was closed on Mondays, I knew that was the day we should go. The weather forecast looked good (no major raining and temperatures in the low 70s) so Monday it was.

It was our third time to visit the Biltmore Estate, but the first time at Christmas. Janice and Leon, our traveling friends, had never been. Ashville is only 90 miles from Sevierville most of which is on Interstate 40 so I told them we would definitely go.

I had read before we left home that there were 33 Christmas trees but I think someone quit counting. (I know we didn't go in all 250 rooms, but we went in more than 33.) I didn't count them (just took pictures of them), but I am sure there were more than 33.

After taking six years to build, George Vanderbilt moved in and  officially opened the house on Christmas Eve, 1898. George married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser in 1898. Cornelia, their daughter was born in 1900. George died at the age of 51 in 1914. In 1924 Cornelia married a British Diplomat, the Honorable John Frances Amherst Cecil. Their first son was born in the house in 1925 and their second son was born in 1928. In 1930 they opened the house to the public. Today fourth and fifth generations of Mr. Vanderbilt's are involved in the day-to-day operations.

I hope you enjoy some of my pictures I took. (I didn't take a picture of every room we went in - almost though) If you have visited the Biltmore Estate before but not at Christmas, I am sure you will recognize the rooms. They traditionally set up the large outdoor Christmas tree on the first Wednesday of November. Since that was Nov 1 this year, the house was decorated earlier than usual. It took three weeks to decorate the house. They did the decorating while people were touring. 





Atrium...


Banquet Hall...


The organ loft in the Banquet Hall...

Salon (or formal sitting area) that was never finished during Vanderbilt's lifetime.

The Breakfast Room...

The Music Room...


Library...


The Tapestry Gallery...


one of the stairways...

Second Floor Living Room...

Mr. (George) Vanderbilt's bedroom...


Oak Sitting Room joining Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilts' bedrooms...


Mrs. (Edith) Vanderbilt's bedroom...


Third Floor Living Room...

Down the staircase to the Second Floor...

Guest rooms...


The next four bedrooms were the grandest guest rooms in the house...

Damask Room...

Claude Room so named for French painter Claude Lorrain, one of Vanderbilt's favorite artist...

Tyrolean Chimney Room named for its 18th-century Swiss porcelain tile overmantel...

Louis XV Room... Edith gave birth to their daughter Cornelia in this room in 1900 and stayed in the room for several weeks. In the 1920s Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil gave birth to both her sons in the room.


Down the stairway to the second floor...


Second floor hallway...

Stone hallway showing the foundation of the house. (It took almost 2 years to build the foundations and footings that are approximately 29 feet deep.)...

The bowling alley....

The swimming pool... (70,000 gallon indoor pool was heated and still has its original underwater lighting.)

The Gymnasium...

Main Kitchen with original copper pots hanging above the work table.... (I didn't take pictures of the Pastry Kitchen or the Rotisserie Kitchen or the pantries.)

Servants' Dining Room... (We took a wrong turn before the kitchens and missed the sleeping quarters for the women servants.)


A view of the stairway...

A view of the Banquet Hall from under the organ pipes...

The Bachelor's Wing...

Billiard Room...

Smoking Room...

Gun Room...

Bachelors' Wing Hallway...(This portrait is of Cornelia's husband, John F. A. Cecil. They opened the house to the public in 1930.)

Outside one more view of the house... (too bad about the shuttle buses, but it was nice to be driven up to the house instead of walking)

If you are still with me...you can check out my first post for the trip here showing the colors of fall in the Smokies.


I have two posts on Dollywood Theme Park. The first one contains pictures I took during the day. You can check them out here.

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