George Vanderbilt opened Biltmore on Christmas Eve 1895, a 250-room chateau designed by Richard Morris Hunt with grounds by Frederick Law Olmsted.
It remains the largest privately owned house in the United States.
His descendants opened it to the public in 1930 to bring tourists to Asheville during the Depression, and still own it today.
Timeline
- 1889Construction begins.
- 1895The Vanderbilts open the house.
- 1930Opened to the public.
Even the biggest house in America is still a family house.
