The Biltmore estate does it big Welcome back to Period Dramas, a weekly column that alternates between rounding up historic homes on the market and answering questions we?ve always had about older structures.
On Christmas Day in 1895, George Washington Vanderbilt welcomed the first guests to his new county estate.
But Biltmore wasn?t just any residence: at 250 rooms and 175,000 square feet, the Richard Morris Hunt-designed mansion was the largest house in America.
?Christmas Eve saw a gathering of family and friends,? says Denise Kiernan, author of The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home. ?Everybody was excited that people were coming down from New York City to celebrate. But parts of the house were still unfinished?like the library and the music room. There was an organ loft with an unfinished organ! The house nevertheless made a spectacular impression.?
Courtesy of The Biltmore Company.
The billiard room.

Among the decorations was a 40-foot-tall tree in the Banquet Hall, lit by 500 electric lights. ?When we think of Christmas trees of the 19th century, candles usually come to mind,? says Lizzie Borchers, floral manager of Biltmore. ?But, always wanting the best, George was very proud to have electric light illuminating his tree.?
While Christmas Eve was a more intimate affair, in her book Kiernan writes that George Vanderbilt invited over 200 of the estate?s employees and their fa...