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100-641: Although the idea for the arboretum stretches back to landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1898, who wished to create an arboretum at the nearby Biltmore Estate , today's arboretum was established by the General Assembly in 1986, as a facility of the University of North Carolina . In 1989 the site was officially designated the North Carolina Arboretum. The arboretum is still under active development. It includes many hiking and bicycling trails,

200-408: A bonsai collection, a holly garden, and a stream garden. Its tree collection includes a fine set of Metasequoias planted in 1950, and now said to be the tallest in the south (over 100 feet (30 m) in height). In 2016, a certification from Bee Campus USA recognized the arboretum's efforts to teach about and support pollinators. The arboretum's bonsai collection was established in 1992 with

300-410: A call bell system. Biltmore House had electricity from the time it was built, though initially it received direct current electricity due to Vanderbilt's friendship with Thomas Edison . With electricity less safe and fire more of a danger at the time, the house had six separate sections divided by brick fire walls . The principal rooms of the house are located on the ground floor. To the right of

400-569: A conservatory with individual rooms for palms and roses. There was also a bowling green , an outdoor tea room, and a terrace to incorporate the European statuary that Vanderbilt had brought back from his travels. At the opposite end of the Esplanade is the Rampe Douce (French for "gentle/soft ramp"), a graduated stairway zigzagging along a rough-cut limestone wall that leads to the grassy slope known as

500-501: A "'grand promenade' was an 'essential feature of a metropolitan park'"; however, its formal symmetry, its style, although something of an aberration, was designed to be subordinate to the natural view surrounding it. Wealthy passengers were let from their carriages at its south end. The carriage would then drive around to the Terrace, which overlooked the Lake and Ramble to pick them up, saving them

600-522: A 375-foot (114 m) facade to fit into the mountainous topography behind. The facade is asymmetrically balanced with two projecting wings connecting to the entrance tower: an open loggia is to the left side and a windowed arcade to the right, which holds the Winter Garden that was fashionable during the Victorian era . The entrance tower contains a series of windows with decorated jambs that extend from

700-770: A church, known today as the Cathedral of All Souls . Intending the estate to be self-supporting, Vanderbilt set up scientific forestry programs, poultry farms, cattle farms, hog farms, and dairy. His wife, Edith, also enthusiastically supported agricultural reform and promoted the establishment of a state agricultural fair. In 1901, the Vanderbilts provided financial assistance to Biltmore Industries , started by Biltmore Village resident Eleanor Vance, which taught young people how to make hand-carved furniture, woven baskets, homespun wool fabric, and more. The estate today covers approximately 8,000 acres (13 sq mi; 32 km ) and

800-534: A concealed passageway that leads to the guest rooms. The second-floor balcony is accessed by an ornate walnut spiral staircase. The Baroque detailing of the room is enhanced by the rich walnut paneling and the ceiling painting, The Chariot of Aurora , brought to Biltmore by Vanderbilt from the Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice , Italy. The painting by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini is the most important work by

900-441: A friend wrote: "Olmsted is in an unhappy, sick, sore mental state ... He works like a dog all day and sits up nearly all night ... works with steady, feverish intensity till four in the morning, sleeps on a sofa in his clothes, and breakfasts on strong coffee and pickles!!!" His overwork and lack of sleep led to his being in a perpetual state of irritability, which wore on the people with whom he worked: "Exhausted, ill and having lost

1000-556: A major tourist attraction in western North Carolina, with around 1.4 million visitors each year. Since the death of William A. V. Cecil in October 2017 and his wife Mimi Cecil in November, their daughter Dini Pickering has served as board chair and their son Bill Cecil as chief executive officer . The house is assessed at $ 157.2 million, although due to an agricultural deferment, county property taxes are paid on only $ 79.1 million. The estate

1100-489: A more cultivated taste. Their children were Charlotte, Mary, Owen, Bertha, Ada, and Albert Olmsted. The Olmsted ancestors arrived in the early 1600s from Essex , England. When he was almost ready to enter Yale College at a young age, sumac poisoning weakened his eyes, so he abandoned college plans. After working as an apprentice seaman, merchant, and journalist, he settled on a 125 acres (51 ha) farm in January 1848 on

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1200-476: A number of guest rooms with names that describe the furnishing or artist that they were decorated with. The fourth floor has 21 bedrooms that were inhabited by housemaids, laundresses, and other female servants. Also included on the fourth floor is an Observatory with a circular staircase that leads to a wrought iron balcony with doorways to the rooftop where Vanderbilt could view his estate. Male servants were not housed here, however, but instead resided in rooms above

1300-453: A park-like setting for his home and employed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design the grounds. Olmsted was not impressed with the condition of the 125,000 acres (195 sq mi; 510 km ) and advised having a park surround the house, establishing farms along the river, and replanting the rest as a commercial timber forest, a plan to which Vanderbilt agreed. Gifford Pinchot and later Carl A. Schenck were hired to manage

1400-503: A patient at the McLean Hospital , for whose grounds he had submitted a design which was never executed. He remained there until he died in 1903. Drawing influences from English landscape and gardening, Olmsted emphasized design that encourages the full use of the naturally occurring features of a given space, its "genius"; the subordination of individual details to the whole so that decorative elements do not take precedence, but rather

1500-604: A plan for Presque Isle Park in Marquette, Michigan , saying that it "should not be marred by the intrusion of artificial objects". After Olmsted's retirement and death, his sons John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. , continued the work of their firm, doing business as the Olmsted Brothers . The firm lasted until 1980. Many works by the Olmsted sons are mistakenly credited to Frederick Law Olmsted today. For instance,

1600-448: A portion of the estate was once the community of Shiloh. A spokesperson for the estate said in 2017 that archives show much of the land "was in very poor condition, and many of the farmers and other landowners were glad to sell." Construction of the house began in 1889. In order to facilitate such a large project, a woodworking factory and brick kiln, which produced 32,000 bricks a day, were built onsite. A 3-mile (5 km) railroad spur

1700-507: A similar fashion for their private enjoyment, such as that of Frederick T. van Beuren Jr. in New Jersey. He is a descendant of a Dutch physician who settled in Manhattan in 1700 and whose family members became prominent property owners in the city and various other locations. Initially, that country estate was one of several self-sufficient retreats from Manhattan held by the family that included

1800-719: A son Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (born July 24, 1870). Their first child, John Theodore Olmsted, was born on June 13, 1860, and died in infancy. In recognition of his services during the Civil War, Olmsted was elected a Third Class member of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) on May 2, 1888, and was assigned insignia number 6345. Olmsted's election to MOLLUS

1900-475: A soothing, restorative effect on the viewer. The picturesque style covered rocky, broken terrain teeming with shrubs and creepers, to express nature's richness. The picturesque style played with light and shade to lend the landscape a sense of mystery. Scenery was designed to enhance the sense of space: indistinct boundaries using plants, brush, and trees as opposed to sharp ones; the interplay of light and shadow close up, and blurred detail farther away. He employed

2000-410: A source of income through rental cottages, a place to help carry out philanthropic programs, and an easy point of access between the estate and the train station. The result was Biltmore Village. The village was mostly designed by Richard Sharp Smith , supervising architect of Biltmore, included rental cottages complete with plumbing and central heating, a post office, shops, doctor's office, school, and

2100-512: A standard of excellence that continues to influence landscape architecture in the United States. He was an early and important activist in the conservation movement , including in his work at Niagara Falls, the Adirondack region of upstate New York, and the National Park system . As head of the U.S. Sanitary Commission , he also played a major role in organizing and providing medical services to

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2200-460: A supporting farm for produce, livestock, and a livery as well as several houses for permanent staff. The estate later became a more permanent residence as van Beuren's career shifted to founding a hospital in the growing community nearby . At that time the shingled structure in New Vernon was renovated into a brick structure that is described as one of the notable mansions of the area. At the time of

2300-408: A vast expanse of greenery at the end of which would lie a grove of yellow poplar; a path that winds through a bit of landscape and intersects with others, dividing the terrain into triangular islands of successive new views. Subordination strove to use all objects and features in the service of the design and its intended effect. It can be seen in the subtle use of naturally occurring plants throughout

2400-564: Is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina , United States. The main residence, Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), is a Châteauesque -style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States , at 178,926 sq ft (16,622.8 m ) of floor space and 135,280 sq ft (12,568 m ) of living area. Still owned by George Vanderbilt's descendants , it remains one of

2500-401: Is a contrast to the smooth limestone used on the remainder of the house. The steeply pitched roof is punctuated by sixteen chimneys and covered with slate tiles that were affixed one by one. Each tile was drilled at the corners and wired onto the attic's steel infrastructure. Copper flashing was installed at the junctions to prevent water from penetrating. The fanciful flashing on the ridge of

2600-450: Is decorated overhead with terracotta tiles set in a herringbone pattern . The self-supporting ceramic tile vault and arch system was used extensively inside and outside of Biltmore, and was patented by Rafael Guastavino , a Spanish architect and engineer who personally supervised the installation. The limestone columns were carved to reflect the sunlight in aesthetically pleasing and varied ways per Vanderbilt's wish. The rusticated base

2700-655: Is significant in that he was one of the few civilians elected to membership in an organization composed almost exclusively of military officers and their descendants. In 1891 he joined the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution by right of his descent from his grandfather Benjamin Olmsted who served in the 4th Connecticut Regiment in 1775. In 1895, senility forced Olmsted to retire. By 1898 he moved to Belmont, Massachusetts , and took up residence as

2800-623: Is split in half by the French Broad River . The estate is overseen by The Biltmore Company , a trust set up by the family. The company is a large enterprise that is one of the largest employers in the Asheville area. Restaurants were opened in 1979, 1987, and 1995, and four gift shops in 1993. The former dairy barn was converted into the Biltmore Winery in 1985. The 210-room luxury hotel, named The Inn on Biltmore Estate, opened in 2001. In 2010,

2900-496: Is the house's smallest and is dominated by three large dormers on the east side and a polygonal turret on the west. An arbor is attached to the house and is accessed from the library, which is located on the ground floor. On the north end of the house, Hunt placed the attached stables, carriage house and its courtyard to protect the house and gardens from the wind. The 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m ) complex housed Vanderbilt's prized driving horses. The carriage house opposite

3000-525: Is the use of sunken roadways which traverse the park and are specifically dedicated to vehicles as opposed to the winding pathways designated specifically for pedestrians. An example of this mix of principles is seen in the Central Park Mall , a large promenade leading to the Bethesda Terrace, and the single formal feature in Olmsted and Vaux's original naturalistic design. The designers wrote that

3100-750: The American South and Texas from 1852 to 1857. His dispatches to the Times were collected into three volumes ( A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States (1856), A Journey Through Texas (1857), A Journey in the Back Country in the Winter of 1853–4 (1860). These are considered vivid first-person accounts of the antebellum South. A one-volume abridgment, Journeys and Explorations in the Cotton Kingdom (1861),

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3200-495: The Esplanade . In between, the lane was densely planted along the borders with natural and uncultivated-looking foliage and shrubbery to provide a relaxing journey for guests. Olmsted made sure to incorporate 75 acres (30 ha) of formal gardens , which had been requested by Vanderbilt for the grounds directly surrounding the house. He constructed a Roman formal garden , a formal garden, a bush and tulip garden, water fountains, and

3300-516: The Gold Coast of Long Island , and Hyde Park, New York . Vanderbilt named his estate Biltmore , combining De Bilt (his ancestors' place of origin in the Netherlands) with more ( mōr , Anglo-Saxon for " moor ", an open, rolling land). Vanderbilt eventually bought 125,000 acres (51,000 ha) of land, comprising nearly 700 parcels, including over 50 farms and at least five cemeteries;

3400-868: The Grand Necklace of Parks in Milwaukee , Wisconsin ; Cherokee Park and parks and parkway system in Louisville, Kentucky ; Walnut Hill Park in New Britain, Connecticut ; the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina ; the master plans for the University of California, Berkeley , the University of Maine , Stanford University near Palo Alto, California , Mount Holyoke College , The Lawrenceville School ; and Montebello Park in St. Catharines , Ontario . In Chicago his projects include Jackson Park , Washington Park ,

3500-844: The Niagara Reservation in Niagara Falls, New York ; one of the first planned communities in the United States, Riverside, Illinois ; Mount Royal Park in Montreal , Quebec ; The Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut; Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut; Waterbury Hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut; the Emerald Necklace in Boston , Massachusetts ; Highland Park in Rochester, New York ;

3600-626: The Panic of 1857 . Olmsted provided financial support for, and occasionally wrote for, the magazine The Nation , which was founded in 1865. "Olmsted spent much of his free time working without pay as an editorial assistant to [the magazine's first editor, Edwin L.] Godkin . It was a labor of love." Andrew Jackson Downing , the landscape architect from Newburgh, New York , was one of the first to propose developing New York City's Central Park in his role as publisher of The Horticulturist magazine. A friend and mentor to Olmsted, Downing introduced him to

3700-738: The Red Cross . He tended to the wounded during the American Civil War . In 1862, during Union General George B. McClellan 's Peninsula Campaign , he headed the medical effort for the sick and wounded at White House plantation in New Kent County , which had a boat landing on the Pamunkey River . He was one of the six founding members of the Union League Club of New York . He helped to recruit and outfit three African-American regiments of

3800-618: The Union Army during the Civil War. Olmsted was born in Hartford, Connecticut , on April 26, 1822. His father, John Olmsted, was a prosperous merchant who took a lively interest in nature, people, and places; Frederick Law and his younger brother, John Hull Olmsted, also showed this interest. His mother, Charlotte Law (née Hull) Olmsted, died from an overdose before his fourth birthday in 1826. His father remarried in 1827 to Mary Ann Bull, who shared her husband's strong love of nature and had perhaps

3900-696: The United States Colored Troops in New York City. He contributed to organizing a Sanitary Fair , which raised one million dollars for the United States Sanitary Commission . He worked for the Sanitary Commission to the point of exhaustion: "Part of the problem was his need to maintain control over all aspects of the commission's work. He refused to delegate and he had an appetite for authority and power." By January 1863

4000-486: The University of Chicago , as well as the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, among many other projects. Olmsted was an important early leader of the conservation movement in the United States. An expert on California, he was likely one of the gentlemen "of fortune, of taste and of refinement" who proposed, through Senator John Conness, that Congress designate Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grove as public reserves. This

4100-488: The planned Chicago suburb of Riverside, Illinois ; the park system for Buffalo, New York ; Milwaukee 's grand necklace of parks; and the Niagara Reservation at Niagara Falls and Belle Isle in Detroit. Olmsted conceived of entire systems of parks and interconnecting parkways to connect certain cities to green spaces. Some of the best examples of the scale on which he worked are the park system designed for Buffalo, one of

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4200-505: The 15th century to the late 19th century. Among the few American-made items were the more practical oak drop-front desk, rocking chairs, a walnut grand piano, bronze candlesticks, and a wicker wastebasket. George Vanderbilt opened his opulent estate, on Christmas Eve of 1895, to family and friends from across the country who were encouraged to enjoy leisure and country pursuits. The Gilded Age mansion reportedly cost $ 5 million (equivalent to about $ 183 million today) to construct. Guests to

4300-563: The 1880s, he was active in efforts to conserve the natural wonders of Niagara Falls , threatened with industrialization by the building of electrical power plants. At the same time, he campaigned to preserve the Adirondack region in upstate New York. He was one of the founders of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1898. Olmsted was also known to oppose park projects on conservationist grounds. In 1891, Olmsted refused to develop

4400-613: The English-born architect Calvert Vaux , whom Downing had brought to the U.S. as his architectural collaborator. After Downing died in July 1852 in a widely publicized fire on the Hudson River steamboat Henry Clay , Olmsted and Vaux entered the Central Park design competition together, against Egbert Ludovicus Viele among others. Vaux had invited the less experienced Olmsted to participate in

4500-489: The Library, featuring three 16th-century tapestries representing The Triumph of Virtue Over Vice . Elsewhere on the walls are family portraits by John Singer Sargent , Giovanni Boldini , and James Whistler . The two-story Library contains over 10,000 volumes in eight languages, reflecting George Vanderbilt's broad interests in classic literature as well as works on art, history, architecture, and gardening. The library also houses

4600-493: The Mohicans (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Richie Rich (1994), My Fellow Americans (1996), Patch Adams (1998), Hannibal (2001) and The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012). The Hallmark Channel movie A Biltmore Christmas was filmed at Biltmore House in January 2023, and was first aired the following November. It was the first movie in which the setting was Biltmore House. Popular figures who have visited

4700-514: The Music Room was not completed and opened to the public until 1976. It showcases a mantel designed by Hunt, and a print of the large engraving by Albrecht Dürer called the Triumphal Arch , commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I . The mantel had been stored in the stable for over 80 years. To the left of the entrance hall is the 90-foot (27 m) long Tapestry Gallery, which leads to

4800-466: The Olmsted Brothers firm did a park plan for Portland, Maine , in 1905, creating a series of connecting parkways between existing parks and suggesting improvements to those parks. The oldest of these parks, Deering Oaks, had been designed by City Engineer William Goodwin in 1879 but is today frequently described as a Frederick Law Olmsted-designed park. A residence hall at the University of Hartford

4900-537: The Smoking Room, which was fashionable for country houses, and the Gun Room, which held mounted trophies and displayed George Vanderbilt's gun collection. The basement level featured activity rooms, including an indoor, 70,000 U.S. gallons (260,000 L; 58,000 imp gal) heated swimming pool with underwater lighting, a bowling alley, and a gymnasium with once state-of-the-art fitness equipment. The service hub of

5000-603: The Vista, topped with a statue of Diana , the goddess of the hunt. Water was an important aspect of Victorian landscaping, and Olmsted incorporated two elements for the estate: the Bass Pond created from an old creek-fed millpond and the Lagoon. Each was used for guest recreation such as fishing and rowing. To supply water for the estate, Olmsted engineered two reservoirs. One was a spring-fed man-made lake on nearby Busbee Mountain. The other

5100-406: The artist still in existence. The second floor is accessed by the cantilevered Grand Staircase of 107 steps spiraling around a four-story, wrought-iron chandelier holding 72 light bulbs. The second-floor Living Hall is an extension of the grand staircase as a formal hall and portrait gallery, and was restored to its original configuration in 2013. Several large-scale masterpieces are displayed in

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5200-525: The common comforts and consolations of civilized life. Their destitution is not material only; it is intellectual and it is moral ... They were neither generous nor hospitable and their talk was not that of evenly courageous men. Between his travels in Europe and the South, Olmsted served as an editor for Putnam's Magazine for two years and as an agent with Dix, Edwards and Co., before the company's insolvency during

5300-531: The cotton monopoly in some way did them more harm than good; and although the written narration of what I saw was not intended to set this forth, upon reviewing it for the present publication, I find the impression has become a conviction. He argued that slavery had made the slave states inefficient (a set amount of work took 4 times as long in Virginia as in the North) and backward both economically and socially. He said that

5400-544: The design competition with him, having been impressed with Olmsted's theories and political contacts. Prior to this, in contrast with the more experienced Vaux, Olmsted had never designed or executed a landscape design. Their Greensward Plan was announced in 1858 as the winning design. On his return from the South, Olmsted began executing their plan almost immediately. Olmsted and Vaux continued their informal partnership to design Prospect Park in Brooklyn from 1865 to 1873. That

5500-638: The donation of a large number of plants and containers from Mr. and Mrs. George Staples. Today the collection includes approximately 100 display specimens, with more than 100 additional settings in various stages of development. Specimens include traditional Asian trees such as Japanese maple and Chinese elm ; tropical plants such as willow leaf fig ; and American species such as bald cypress and limber pine . 35°29′51″N 82°36′32″W  /  35.4976°N 82.6090°W  / 35.4976; -82.6090 Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903)

5600-430: The estate in the late 1950s and partnered with his brother to manage the estate's financial trouble. They worked to create the profitable and self-sustaining enterprise that their grandfather had envisioned. William Cecil inherited the estate upon the death of their mother, Cornelia, in 1976. His brother, George, inherited the more profitable dairy farm, which was spun off as Biltmore Farms . In 1995, while celebrating

5700-614: The estate opened Antler Hill Village, consisting of shops and restaurants, as well as a remodeled winery, and connected farmyard. In 2015, the Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate, a more casual option to The Inn with 209 rooms, was opened in Antler Hill Village. The estate has been used on numerous occasions as a filming location for movies and television shows. These have included The Swan (1956), Being There (1979), The Private Eyes (1980), Mr. Destiny (1990), The Last of

5800-412: The estate over the years included novelists Edith Wharton and Henry James , ambassadors Joseph Hodges Choate and Larz Anderson , and U.S. presidents. George married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser in 1898 in Paris, France. Their only child, Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt , was born at Biltmore in the Louis XV room in 1900 and grew up at the estate. Stressed by Congressional passage of income tax and

5900-443: The estate's centenary , William Cecil turned over control of the company to his son, William A. V. Cecil Jr. The Biltmore Company is privately held. Of the 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) that make up Biltmore Estate, only 1.36 acres (5,500 m ; 0.55 ha) are within the city limits of Asheville, and the Biltmore House is not part of any municipality. The estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963, and remains

6000-435: The estate. After the Cecils divorced in 1934, Cornelia left the estate, never to return, but John Cecil maintained his residence in the Bachelors' Wing until his death in 1954. Their eldest son, George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil , occupied rooms in the wing until 1956. At that point, Biltmore House ceased to be a family residence and was operated as a historic house museum. Their younger son, William A. V. Cecil Sr. , returned to

6100-420: The event of an attack on the United States. The Music Room on the first floor was never finished, so it was used for storage until 1944, when the possibility of an attack became more remote. Among the works stored were the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington and works by Rembrandt , Raphael , and Anthony van Dyck . David Finley, the gallery director, was a friend of Edith Vanderbilt and had stayed at

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6200-432: The expensive maintenance of the estate, Vanderbilt initiated the sale of 87,000 acres (350 km ; 35,000 ha) to the federal government. After Vanderbilt's unexpected death in 1914, of complications from an emergency appendectomy , his widow completed the sale. She carried out her husband's wish that the land remain pristine, and that property became the nucleus of the Pisgah National Forest . Overwhelmed with running

6300-413: The forests, with Schenck establishing the first forestry education program in the U.S. in 1898, the Biltmore Forest School , on the estate grounds. Another important aspect of the landscaping was the intentionally rustic four-mile (5  km) Approach track that began at the brick quoined and pebbledash stucco Lodge Gate at the edge of Biltmore Village and ended at the sphinx-topped stone pillars at

6400-465: The front door to the most decorated dormer at Biltmore on the fourth floor. The carved decorations include trefoils , flowing tracery , rosettes, gargoyles and, at prominent lookouts, grotesques . The staircase is one of the more prominent features of the east facade, with its three-story, highly decorated winding balustrade with carved statues of St. Louis and Joan of Arc by the Austrian-born architectural sculptor Karl Bitter . The south facade

6500-478: The grounds for the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane in Poughkeepsie . In 1883, Olmsted established what is considered to be the first full-time landscape architecture firm in Brookline, Massachusetts . He called the home and office compound Fairsted . It is now the restored Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site . From there Olmsted designed Boston's Emerald Necklace , the campuses of Wellesley College , Smith College , Stanford University and

6600-517: The hall, including two John Singer Sargent portraits of Biltmore's architect, Richard Morris Hunt, and landscaper, Frederick Law Olmsted , both commissioned for the home by Vanderbilt. Located nearby in the south tower is George Vanderbilt's gilded bedroom with furniture designed by Hunt. His bedroom connects to his wife's Louis XV-style , oval-shaped bedroom in the north tower through a Jacobean carved oak paneled sitting room with an intricate ceiling. The suite of rooms includes: The third floor has

6700-417: The house in the Châteauesque style. Hunt used French Renaissance châteaux as inspiration. Vanderbilt and Hunt had visited several in early 1889, including Château de Blois , Chenonceau and Chambord in France and Waddesdon Manor in England. These estates shared steeply pitched roofs , turrets , and sculptural ornamentation. Hunt sited the four-story Indiana limestone -built home to face east, with

6800-418: The house is also found in the largest basement in the country. It holds the main kitchen, pastry kitchen, rotisserie kitchen, walk-in refrigerators that provided an early form of mechanical refrigeration, the servants' dining hall, laundry rooms, and additional bedrooms for staff. In the conservatory, which has many flowers and trees growing in it, there is also an elevated model railway. Vanderbilt envisioned

6900-404: The house, measuring 42 ft × 72 ft (13 m × 22 m), with a 70-foot (21 m) high barrel-vaulted ceiling. The table can seat 64 guests and is surrounded by rare Flemish tapestries and a triple fireplace that spans one end of the hall. On the opposite end of the hall is an organ gallery that houses a 1916 Skinner pipe organ . Left unfinished with bare brick walls,

7000-456: The land were strangely unused, or were used with poor economy.' He thought that the lack of a Southern white middle class and the general poverty of lower-class whites prevented the development of many civil amenities that were taken for granted in the North. The citizens of the cotton States, as a whole, are poor. They work little, and that little, badly; they earn little, they sell little; they buy little, and they have little – very little – of

7100-475: The landscape was not in any one individual waterfall, cliff, or tree, but in the "miles of scenery where cliffs of awful height and rocks of vast magnitude and of varied and exquisite coloring, are banked and fringed and draped and shadowed by the tender foliage of noble and lovely trees and bushes, reflected from the most placid pools, and associated with the most tranquil meadows, the most playful streams, and every variety of soft and peaceful pastoral beauty". In

7200-471: The large estate, Edith Vanderbilt began consolidating her interests, selling Biltmore Estate Industries in 1917 and Biltmore Village in 1921. She intermittently occupied the house, living in an apartment created in the former Bachelors' Wing, until the marriage of her daughter Cornelia to John Francis Amherst Cecil in April 1924. The Cecils had two sons, who were born at Biltmore in the same room where their mother

7300-513: The largest projects; the system he designed for Milwaukee, and the park system designed for Louisville, Kentucky , which was one of only four completed Olmsted-designed park systems in the world. Olmsted was a frequent collaborator with architect Henry Hobson Richardson , for whom he devised the landscaping schemes for half a dozen projects, including Richardson's commission for the Buffalo State Asylum . In 1871, Olmsted and Vaux designed

7400-673: The main park ground for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition , the southern portion of Chicago's emerald necklace boulevard ring , and the University of Chicago campus. In Washington, D.C. , he worked on the landscape surrounding the United States Capitol building. The quality of Olmsted's landscape architecture was recognized by his contemporaries, who showered him with prestigious commissions. Daniel Burnham said of him, "He paints with lakes and wooded slopes; with lawns and banks and forest-covered hills; with mountainsides and ocean views...." His work, especially in Central Park, set

7500-451: The marbled Entrance Hall, the octagonal sunken Winter Garden is surrounded by stone archways with a ceiling of architecturally sculptured wood and multifaceted glass. The centerpiece is a marble and bronze fountain sculpture titled Boy Stealing Geese , created by Karl Bitter. On the walls just outside the Winter Garden are copies of the Parthenon frieze . The Banquet Hall is the largest room in

7600-545: The most prominent examples of Gilded Age mansions. In the 1880s, at the height of the Gilded Age , George Washington Vanderbilt II began to make regular visits with his mother, Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt, to the Asheville area. He loved the scenery and climate so much that he decided to build a summer house in the area, which he called his "little mountain escape". His older brothers and sisters had built luxurious summer houses in places such as Newport, Rhode Island ,

7700-408: The park. Non-native species planted for the sake of their own uniqueness was seen as defeating the purpose of design, as that very uniqueness would draw attention to itself where the intention is to enable relaxation: utility above all else was an objective. Separation applied to areas designed in different styles and different uses enhancing safety and reducing distraction. A key feature of Central Park

7800-451: The preeminent landscape architecture and planning consultancy of the late 19th-century United States, which was carried on and expanded by his sons, Frederick Jr. and John C., under the name Olmsted Brothers . Other projects that Olmsted was involved in include the country's first and oldest coordinated system of public parks and parkways in Buffalo, New York ; the country's oldest state park,

7900-420: The profits of slavery were enjoyed by no more than 8,000 owners of large plantations; a somewhat larger group had about the standard of living of a New York City policeman, but the proportion of the free white men who were as well-off as a Northern working man was small. Slavery meant that 'the proportion of men improving their condition was much less than in any Northern community; and that the natural resources of

8000-505: The renovation, the mature landscape plan for the residence was not altered. A widening of Spring Valley Road during the late twentieth century did eliminate some Olmsted landscaping that included a cascading bank of native ferns lining a roadside stretch of the property that extended along the road from Blackberry Lane to the eponymous van Beuren Road that divided the family property from its northern boundary to its southern boundary at Blue Mill Road. Biltmore Estate Biltmore Estate

8100-441: The roof was embossed with George Vanderbilt's initials and motifs from his family crest, though the original gold leaf no longer survives. Biltmore has 4 acres (1.6 ha) of floor space and 250 rooms in the house, including 35 bedrooms for family and guests, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens and 19th-century novelties such as an electric Otis elevator, forced-air heating , centrally controlled clocks, fire alarms and

8200-420: The south shore of Staten Island . His father helped him acquire this farm, and he renamed it from Akerly Homestead to Tosomock Farm . It was later renamed "The Woods of Arden" by owner Erastus Wiman . The house in which Olmsted lived still stands at 4515 Hylan Boulevard , near Woods of Arden Road. Olmsted had a significant career in journalism. In 1850 he traveled to England to visit public gardens, where he

8300-520: The stable and complex. The Billiard Room is decorated with an ornamental plaster ceiling and rich oak paneling and was equipped with both a custom-made pool table and a carom table (table without pockets). The room was mainly frequented by men, but ladies were welcome to enter as well. Secret door panels on either side of the fireplace led to the private quarters of the Bachelors' Wing where female guests and staff members were not allowed. The wing includes

8400-484: The stables stored his twenty carriages in addition to any of his guests' carriages. The rear western elevation is less elaborate than the front facade, with some windows not having any decoration at all. Two matching polygonal towers in the center are connected to the polygonal south turret by an open loggia that opens the main rooms of the house to the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. The loggia

8500-542: The support of the men who put him in charge, Olmsted resigned on Sept. 1, 1863." Yet within a month he was on his way to California. In 1863, Olmsted went west to become the manager of the newly established Rancho Las Mariposas–Mariposa gold mining estate in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California . The estate had been sold by John C. Fremont to New York banker, Morris Ketchum , in January of that same year. The mine

8600-407: The trouble of needing to double back on foot. The Promenade was lined with slender elms and offered views of Sheep Meadow. Affluent New Yorkers, who rarely walked through the park, mixed with the less well-to-do in the Terrace areas, and all enjoyed an escape from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city. However, the most wealthy among them employed the firm to landscape their country estates in

8700-517: The whole space is enhanced; concealment of design, design that does not call attention to itself; design that works on the unconscious to produce relaxation; and utility or purpose over ornamentation. A bridge, a pathway, a tree, a pasture: any and all elements are brought together to produce a particular effect. Olmsted designed primarily in pastoral and picturesque styles, each to achieve a particular effect. The pastoral style featured vast expanses of green with small lakes, trees, and groves and produced

8800-414: The widow of his brother John, who died in 1857. Daniel Fawcett Tiemann , the mayor of New York, officiated the wedding. Olmsted adopted Mary's three children (his nephews and niece), John Charles Olmsted (born 1852), Charlotte Olmsted (born 1855), and Owen Frederick Olmsted (born 1857). Frederick and Mary also had two children together who survived infancy: a daughter, Marion (born October 28, 1861), and

8900-401: Was a man-made, brick-lined reservoir, located behind the statue of Diana in the Vista, at an elevation of approximately 266 ft (81 m) above the Esplanade. Vanderbilt's idea was to replicate the working estates of Europe. He asked Richard Morris Hunt and Frederick Law Olmsted to design a village with architecturally compatible buildings and picturesque landscaping. He intended it to be

9000-698: Was an American landscape architect , journalist, social critic , and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the United States. Olmsted was famous for co-designing many well-known urban parks with his partner Calvert Vaux . Olmsted and Vaux's first project was Central Park in New York City, which led to many other urban park designs. These included Prospect Park in Brooklyn ; Cadwalader Park in Trenton, New Jersey ; and Forest Park in Portland, Oregon . In 1883, Olmsted established

9100-677: Was born. In March 1930, in an attempt to bolster the estate's finances during the Great Depression , Cornelia and her husband opened Biltmore to the public at the request of the City of Asheville, which hoped to revitalize the area with tourism. From 1941 to 1945, during World War II , Biltmore closed. In 1942, 62 paintings and 17 sculptures were moved to the estate by train from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to protect them in

9200-413: Was constructed to bring materials to the building site. Construction on the main house required the labor of about 1,000 workers and 60 stonemasons. Vanderbilt made extensive trips overseas during construction to purchase decor. He returned to North Carolina with thousands of furnishings for his newly built home, including tapestries , hundreds of carpets, prints, linens, and decorative objects, dating from

9300-544: Was followed by other projects. Vaux remained in the shadow of Olmsted's grand public personality and social connections. The design of Central Park embodies Olmsted's social consciousness and commitment to egalitarian ideals. Influenced by Downing and his observations regarding social class in England, China, and the American South, Olmsted believed that the common green space must always be equally accessible to all citizens, and

9400-541: Was greatly impressed by Joseph Paxton 's Birkenhead Park . He subsequently wrote and published Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England in 1852. This supported his getting additional work. His visit to Birkenhead Park inspired his later contribution to the design of Central Park in New York City. Interested in the slave economy, he was commissioned by the New York Daily Times (now The New York Times ) to embark on an extensive research journey through

9500-630: Was named in his honor. Olmsted Point , located in Yosemite National Park , was named after Olmsted and his son Frederick. The Olmsted Center located in Queens, NY pays an homage to Frederick Law Olmsted. The Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site is located in Brookline, Massachusetts in his former home. Olmsted is known as the "father of American Landscape Architecture ". On June 13, 1859, Olmsted married Mary Cleveland (Perkins) Olmsted,

9600-415: Was published in England during the first six months of the American Civil War , at the suggestion of Olmsted's English publisher. To this, he wrote a new introduction (on "The Present Crisis"). He stated his views on the effect of slavery on the economy and social conditions of the southern states: My own observation of the real condition of the people of our Slave States, gave me ... an impression that

9700-701: Was temporarily closed after Hurricane Helene in September 2024. Though the group sales office was destroyed, the Biltmore House, conservatory, and several structures survived without serious damage. The estate's operators subsequently pledged $ 2 million for hurricane recovery efforts in Western North Carolina . Biltmore Estate reopened in November 2024. Vanderbilt commissioned prominent New York architect Richard Morris Hunt , who had previously designed houses for various Vanderbilt family members, to design

9800-447: Was the first land set aside by Congress for public use. Olmsted served a one-year appointment on the Board of Commissioner of the state reserve, and his 1865 report to Congress on the board's recommendations laid an ethical framework for the government to reserve public lands, to protect their "value to posterity". He described the "sublime" and "stately" landscape, emphasizing that the value of

9900-403: Was to be defended against private encroachment. This principle is now fundamental to the idea of a "public park", but was not assumed as necessary then. Olmsted's tenure as Central Park commissioner was a long struggle to preserve that idea. In 1861, Olmsted took leave as director of Central Park to work in Washington, D.C., as Executive Secretary of the U.S. Sanitary Commission , a precursor to

10000-484: Was unsuccessful. "By 1865, the Mariposa Company was bankrupt, Olmsted returned to New York, and the land and mines were sold at a sheriff's sale." In 1865, he was appointed to the first board of commissioners for managing the newly established Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove land grants. In 1865, he and Vaux formed Olmsted, Vaux & Co. When Olmsted returned to New York, he and Vaux designed Prospect Park ;

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