Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Our visit to Biltmore Estate.

Our chance to visit the Biltmore House (finally!) came by way of the Seminary on January 26. They had a good group rate that we got in on. It was just for the afternoon which only gave us enough time to quickly see the house. It sure was worth every penny though!

For those of you who like a little history:

Biltmore House took six years and 1,000 men to build; it opened its doors on Christmas Eve in 1895. With a 390-foot façade, the House has more than 11 million bricks, 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces, 43 bathrooms, 34 bedrooms, and three kitchens, all of which are contained in over four acres of floor space. The massive stone spiral staircase rises four floors and has 102 steps. Through its center hangs an iron chandelier weighing 1,700 pounds and containing 72 electric light bulbs.

At its completion, Biltomore House was one of the most innovative and technologically advanced homes in the world. Imagine indoor hot and cold running water, elevators, indoor heating, a fire alarm system, refrigeration, electric lightbulbs, and 10 Bell telephones - all unheard-of luxuries at the turn of the century.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Curt and Jen! Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging! We love the picture of the rolling hills by Biltmore Estate... the history behind the estate is incredible too!
Your sweet sisters,
~Chrissy & Abby

Laurie said...

Thanks so much for keeping us up-to-date on what's been happening with you guys. Very nice pictures, especially the family one. Taking a quick glance at the top of the page makes it look seminarians do pretty well financially :) Ha ha. 4 acres of house... sounds like a lot of work and a lot of cleaning and lots of "new friends" dropping by for extended visits! Love from all of us!

Curt and Jen said...

Hey all you sisters,
Thanks for the welcome, although the whole world of blogging is not quite all wonderful methinks. And yes, indeed seminarians are quite a financially respectable lot(well maybe not quite) - in fact, you would think that Mr. Biltmore could have been a seminarian judging by his studies, extensive library, and the fishing and hunting opportunities he had on his grounds.

Kevin and Carole said...

CURT & JENN welcome!! :) what a handsome little guy Phillip is. Such a doll and getting so big already!! what fun to see new pics again. :)
we want to come visit!! we'll be in Greenville March 21-23 (arriving Wed evening and leaving early Friday morning i think...could change slightly maybe but that should be close) can you spare a tea time or something with us?? hope to see you then!! (i'll email you) love carole

Jen said...

nice to see an update, guys! What a nice idea to go away for a few days.

Keeping you in our prayers,

Henry, Jenny and Megan

Ruth said...

Hmmm, four acres of interior, 102 steps on a stair-case and an IRON chandelier? A little excessive I'm thinking :) Must have been fun to visit though! SC has so much awesome (or at least eventful) history!