AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - 43

DESTINATIONS |

Step into the Gilded Age
Visit Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina
B Y J U L I E S U M M E R S WA L K E R

WE WERE CHARMED by Downton Abbey,
the gracious England home depicted in the
television show of the same name, but the
United States' East Coast has its own aweinspiring family home. Biltmore House in
Western North Carolina is the largest privately owned house in the United States.
It has 250 rooms, 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, four floors, a rooftop observatory,
and a swimming pool in the basement-and
that's just the highlights.
George Washington Vanderbilt II was
the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt,
and he spent his vast inheritance building Biltmore House on 125,000 acres in
Asheville, North Carolina. He began the
project in 1889 at the age of 25, enlisting the
talent of renowned architect Richard Morris
Hunt. The pair-along with landscape
designer Frederick Law Olmsted-would
transform the little town of Asheville,
employing more than 1,000 residents and
even creating a three-mile spur off the railroad to bring in materials. Because the
house has existed as a museum open to the
public since 1930, its history is documented
throughout the 178,926-square-foot structure for visitors to marvel, learn, and absorb.

You can take guided tours or tour on your own;
the staff recommend you plan for at least two hours.
They must have been on speed trials. No way can you
get through this amazing place in two hours. For one,
the basement alone is massive and so interesting. In
addition to kitchens and servant quarters there is the
70,000-gallon swimming pool, bowling alley, and thenstate-of-the-art gym. You'll get lost here easily.
On the main floor is the grand staircase. It has 107
steps and climbs circularly up four stories, overlooking the 70-foot-high banquet hall and gazing down on
the many rooms. The fourth-floor rooftop is where
Vanderbilt could gaze out at the rolling hills of his
estate. There are two elevators, among the many technological advances in the house. It had electricity,
which Vanderbilt's friend Thomas Edison installed.
Vanderbilt nearly spent his fortune on the estate,
especially on his travels to Europe with Hunt to furnish and decorate the house. Vanderbilt brought home
Napoleon's chess set and gaming table, Flemish tapestries from the Middle Ages, Ming Dynasty bowls, and
24,000 volumes of books. The paintings are art galleryworthy, from Renoir to Whistler to Sargent. Vanderbilt
only enjoyed his home for 25 years; he died at age 52.
But his children and grandchildren have kept the home
in beautiful condition and continue to welcome visitors.

GETTING THERE
Asheville Regional Airport
(AVL) is just nine miles
south of the Biltmore Estate
in the western North Carolina town of Fletcher. It has
a 7,000-foot-long runway
and at an elevation of 2,162
feet in the Blue Ridge
Mountains is a spectacular
landing spot. At certain light
you'll discover why these
mountains are called blue.
flyavl.com

WHY YOU SHOULD GO
The house gets all the big
press but Frederick Law
Olmsted's magnificent 75
acres of gardens, pathways,
and ornamental trees are
a delight for the senses.
Don't venture forth without
bottled water and good
walking shoes, this is a massive outdoor space. Very
Zen.
romanticasheville.com/
biltmore

EMAIL julie.walker@aopa.org

aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 43


http://www.flyavl.com http://www.romanticasheville.com/biltmore http://www.romanticasheville.com/biltmore http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - 7
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2020 - Cover4
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